W.  W.  DUSON 
S BRO.-> 


CROWLttY,  La 


COMPILED  BY 

C.  L.  C R ! P P E N 


uwm 

OF  THE 

v%  n? 


^HE  OPPORTUNITIES 


You  Have  Missed,  and 


Why  You  Have 

Missed  Th  em 


While  Others  Have 
Mounted  the  Crest  of  the 
Wave  and  Are  Being  Carried 
On  by  the  Tide  to 
Success  and  Wealth  . . . 


YOU  CALL  IT  CIRCUMSTANCES  AND  BAD  LUCK; 
WE  CALL  IT  CIRCUMSTANCES  AND  NERVE, 
OR  THE  LACK  OF  IT 


CROWLEY,  LA. 

THE  SIGNAL  JOB  PRINT 
1895 


Nosna  m m Nosna  o o noh 


3 3 o.  ^ q („  3 
C Ho- 


CIRCUMSTANCES  PARAMOUNT 


A 


£ 
c r 


P 


.0 


PILLED  MILK  is  one  of  the  least  things  in  the  world  over  which, 
people  should  lament,  nevertheless  it  requires  more  philosophy 
than  was  ever  possessed  by  a Newton  or  a Franklin  to  exemplify' 
the  old  adage  that  we  should  never  regret  or  cry  for  it.  Ever  since 
the  day  when  Eve  ate  the  apple  and  Cain  killed  his  brother  Abel,  from 
the  little  boy  who  didn’t  shoot  his  marble  straight,  to  the  great  nations- 
of  the  earth  seeking  conquest,  all  the  world  has  been  regretting  some- 
thing— either  wishing  that  they  had  or  that  they  had  not. 

The  strongest  minds  of  the  world  today  and  of  all  past  ages  have 
been  unable  at  times  to  stem  the  overwhelming  tide  of  regrets  and  re- 
morse that  sweep  over  the  soul  as  time  demonstrates  the  fallacy  of  their- 
reasoning,  and  the  searchlight  of  truth,  investigation  and  facts  cause  to- 
stand  out  in  bold  relief  the  mistakes  they  have  made  and  the  opportu- 
nities they  have  lost.  They  are  one  and  all  wont  to  exclaim,  “It 
might  have  been.” 

To  err  is  human,  to  profit  by  and  take  advantage  of  the  mistakes  of 
the  past  shows  business  sagacity  and  good  sense.  Napoleon,  when  he 
started  out  to  get  a corner  on  the  world,  with  all  his  military  genius, 
power  and  prestige,  spurred  on  by  unlawful  ambition,  deprived  himself 
of  liberty  and  life  and  the  world  of  one  of  the  most  brilliant  leaders  it 
ever  possessed.  He  made  the  fatal  mistake  of  being  controlled  by  a 
maddening  passion  for  gain  and  conquest  regardless  of  existing  conditions 
and  circumstances,  and  died  like  a felon,  chained  to  the  rocks  of  St. 
Helena. 

Eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  with  all  the  evidences  and  circum- 
stances pointing  toward  the  authenticity  of  the  Christ,  the  world  made 
the  mistake  of  crucifying  him,  and  for  eighteen  hundred  years  the  world 
has  been  sorry  for  it  and  praying  for  forgiveness. 

Up  to  the  year  1776  the  English  Government  made  the  mistake  o£ 


cP 


751207 


4 


Circumstances  Paramount 


pursuing  a policy  toward  the  Colonies  so  unjust  in  its  demands  and  so 
oppressive  in  its  nature  -that  forbearance  ceased  to  be  a virtue  and 
the  yoke  of  tyranny  was  thrown  off  and  England  cut  off  from  a large 
source  of  her  resources,  and  for  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  she  has 
been  sorry  that  she  did  not  listen  to  the  promptings  of  common  sense  and 
good  judgment . 

The  Confederate  States  made  a mistake  when  they  seceded  from  the 
Union.  The  bones  of  thousands  of  brave  officers  and  soldiers  bleached 
in  the  sun;  men,  women  and  children  became  homeless  paupers,  because 
they  could  not  foresee  the  inevitable  result. 

Great  undertakings  and  enterprises  have  been  launched  only  to  be- 
come the  direst  failures  because  of  some  fatal  mistake  in  their  construc- 
tion or  their  management — in  fact,  mistakes  are  common  to  all  classes  of 
people.  The  truly  great  man  is  he  who  is  able  to  see  his  mistakes,  and 
when  convinced  of  his  errors  without  being  prejudiced  by  his  preconceived 
ideas  and  beliefs  turns  his  back  manfully  upon  old  methods  and  ideas 
and  sets  his  face  sturdily  toward  new  opportunities  and  success . It  re- 
quires nothing  but  bigotry  in  a man  to  refuse  to  listen  to  reason  or  to 
be  convinced  by  well  demonstrated  facts,  and  the  man  that  is  so  firmly 
fortified  in  his  own  opinions  that  he  is  not  willing  to  give  due  credence  to 
the  statements  and  experiences  of  others  is  the  man  who  is  making  a 
serious  mistake.  He  is  letting  the  golden  opportunities  slip  one  by  one, 
while  others  with  less  of  prejudice  and  more  of  nerve  puts  himself  in  the 
way  of  fortunate  circumstances  and  the  one  word  success  tells  the 
story. 

These  mjstakes  of  the  past  concern  the  present  generation  but  little, 
only  serving  to  illustrate  the  liability  of  humanity  to  make  them.  The 
history  of  a nation  or  a people  often  repeats  itself  in  the  lives  of  the  in- 
dividual members  of  the  body  politic,  and  one  of  the  hardest  problems  of 
life  is  to  determine  when  we  are  making  mistakes,  how  to  avoid  them , 
and  how  to  take  advantage  of  opportunities  offered.  It  is  for  the  pur- 
pose of  calling  your  attention  to  some  of  the  mistakes  that  you  have  been 
making,  and  pointing  out  some  of  the  opportunities  that  are  offered  you 
at  the  present  time,  that  this  pamphlet  has  been  issued,  and  if,  by  a 
plain  statement  of  existing'  conditions,  backed  up  by  facts  and  evidence 
that  cannot  be  disputed,  we  shall  have  pointed  out  to  some  the  mistakes 
they  are  making  and  show  them  the  road  to  success  or  put  them  in  the 
way  of  bettering  their  condition,  then  will  the  work  of  this  pamphlet  have 
been  accomplished. 


CAUSES  OF  SUCCESS  OR  FAILURE 


A GREAT  and  serious  mistake  in  often  made  is  our  conclusions 
as  to  the  causes  of  the  success  or  failures  of  individuals.  We 
are  too  apt  to  shut  our  eyes  to  the  facts  of  existing  conditions 
and  circumstances,  and  declare  that  this  man  is  a failure  and  that  man 
a success  regardless  of  their  opportunities  or  surroundings.  As  well  say 
the  eighteenth  century  was  a failure  because  it  failed  to  accomplish  as 
much  as  the  present  century.  If  they  accomplish  less  their  opportuni- 
ties are  fewer. 

While  we  do  not  wish  to  detract  from  the  credit  due  to  many  of  our 
great  men,  against  whom  it  would  seem  the  most  adverse  circumstances 
could  not  prevail,  and  who  by  their  will  power  and  wonderful  amount  of 
energy  with  which  they  have  been  endowed,  have  been  able  to  make  and 
control  the  very  circumstances  that  make  the  average  or  ordinary  man 
unsuccessful  and  failures.  Still  observation  and  experience  teaches  that 
many  other  equally  as  great  men  have  been  failures  all  through  their 
lives  owing  to  their  surroundings  and  conditions.  It  is  the  inherent  right 
of  every  man  and  woman  who  labors  with  honesty  and  integrity  of  pur- 
pose to  expect  and  enjoy  success,  and  no  man  should  labor  continuously 
from  year  to  year  for  a mere  sustenance  and  be  content  with  his  condition. 
If  you  have  been  doing  this  you  have  been  making  the  first  grand  mis- 
take to  which  we  wish  to  call  your  attention.  The  second  mistake  you 
have  been  making  is,  you  have  been  working  too  much  and  not  thinking 
enough  as  to  the  causes  of  your  failures  and  why  you  are  not  successful. 
To  be  successful  is  the  grand  object  in'1  life,  and  our  success  depends  not 
always  on  our  own  efforts  alone  but  more  often  on  the  opportunities  of 
which  we  take  advantage.  The  history  of  most  of  the  wealthy  and  suc- 
cessful men  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  of  other  countries,  proves 
that  they  placed  themselves  in  the  way  of  grand  opportunities  and  then, 
and  then  only  was  their  energy  rewarded  and  their  efforts  crowned  with 


6 


Causes  of  Success  or  Failure 


success.  The  fundamental  principles  underlying  and  requisite  to  success- 
are  thrift  and  enterprise,  a willingness  to  work  and  economize, 
and  then  a field  in  which  to  labor  that  offers  the  advantage  of  good  op- 
portunities. If  you  are  a manufacturer  it  is  a mistake  on  your  part  to- 
establish  yourself  where  raw  material  is  the  most  expensive,  and  where 
all  parts  of  your  business  will  demand  an  extra  outlay  of  money  to  keep- 
the  business  running,  the  same  as  it  would  be  to  keep  on  manufacturing, 
goods  for  which  there  is  no  sale.  If  you  are  a civil  engineer  it  is  a mis- 
take  for  you  to  spend  your  life  driving  cattle.  If  you  are  a lawyer  or  a 
jurist,  you  are  making  a mistake  if  you  do  not  hunt  for  and  find  some- 
place where  your  services  will  be  appreciated  and  in  demand.  If  you  are 
a skilled  mechanic,  you  are  making  a mistake  if  you  do  not  go  to  some 
section  of  the  country  where  your  services  are  needed  to  construct  build- 
ings, erect  machinery  plants,  build  roads,  bridges,  etc.  If  you  are  a. 
capitalist  with  idle  means  at  your  command,  you  have  been  making  a mis- 
take if  you  have  been  hoarding  it  up  in  banks  or  making  investments  that 
pay  only  from  three  to  six  per  cent,  when  there  are  places  where  money 
is  always  in  demand  at  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent  yearly  interest,  and 
where  securities  are  gilt  edge  and  both  principal  and  interest  are  absolute- 
ly safe.  If  you  belong  to  the  great  class  of  agriculturists  you  are 
making  a mistake  if  you  longer  continue  to  cultivate  the  hard  and  rocky 
soil  of  the  Eastern  States  where  the  possibility  of  amassing  a competency 
is  as  a chance  of  one  hundred  to  one  against  you;  and  you  are  making  a 
mistake  if  you  go  to  or  longer  remain  in  the  Western  States  and  Terri- 
tories, where  for  the  past  five  years  farming  has  been  a desperate  gambl- 
ing game  with  blizzards,  drouths,  hail  storms  and  cyclones,  with  the- 
chances  largely  against  the  tillers  of  the  soil — where  even  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances,  owing  to  the  overproduction  of  all  classes  of 
agricultural  products  indigenous  to  northern  climates,  and  consequent 
low  prices  that  have  for  years  prevailed,  the  very  most  you  can  hope  to* 
do  is  to  hold  your  own.  We  say  you  are  making  a mistake  if  you  longer 
continue  to  fight  the  battles  where  the  odds  are  so  heavily  against  you, 
when  by  investigating  you  can  find  a place  where  all  of  the  odds  and  op- 
portunities will  be  as  much  in  your  favor  as  they  have  been  against  you 
heretofore. 

The  opportunity!  Will  you  embrace  it,  or  will  you  join  the  vast 
throng  who  in  after  years  will  be  crying  for  the  “milk  that  has  been. 


Causes  of  Success  or  Failure 


7 


spilled”  and  regretting  the  chances  they  have  missed?  You  have  made 
ithe  mistake  in  the  past  of  not  keeping  your  eyes  open  for  some  grand  op- 
portunity that  would  have  placed  you  on  the  Jiighway  to  success ; or  you  have 
lacked  the  nerve  to  strike  when  the  iron  was  hot  and  invest  a few  dollars 
where  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand  and  the  inevitable  result  of  natural 
resources  would  cause  them  to  multiply  and  increase  an  hundred  fold. 
No  truer  declaration  was  ever  made  than,  “There  is  a time  in  the  affairs 
•.of  men  which,  taken  at  the  tide,  leads  on  to  fortune.” 

To  the  man  who  has  money  and  is  seeking  a safe  investment  where 
securities  are  gilt  edge,  and  the  returns  in  profit  and  interest  sure  to  be 
large,  we  say  that  time  in  your  affairs  has  come.  Will  you  take  it  at  the 
tide? 

To  the  many  thousands  of  farmers  throughout  the  West  and  North- 
west who  have  suffered  defeat  year  after  year,  with  possibly  a partial  suc- 
cess once  in  three  or  four  years  just  to  excite  false  hopes  and  to  lead  you 
to  financial  ruin.  To  those  who  have  diligently  plowed,  harrowed  and 
planted  year  after  year  and  have  reaped  little  else  than  mortgages  and 
disappointment,  and  who  would  like  to  find  homes  in  a country  where  a 
crop  failure  was  never  known — where  there  are  no  cyclones,  blizzards  or 
hail  storms;  where  cheap  homes  may  be  secured,  and  where  with  ordinary 
intelligence  and  .care  the  agriculturist  each  year  is  enabled  to  lay  by  a 
. snug  sum  for  the  support  and  comfort  of  their  families  when  old  age  comes 
creeping  on,  we  say  your  opportunity  has  come.  Lay  aside  your  pre- 
judices and  investigate  the  facts. 

To  the  business  men  who  are  being  crowded  to  the  wall  by  competi- 
tion and  crop  failures  and  their  consequent  inability  to  meet  their  obli- 
gations: If  you  are  seeking  a place  where  all  lines  of  business  are  good 
;and  where  all  investments  are  paying  splendid  returns — in  fact,  if  you 
•.wish  to  find  where  the  most  prosperous  section  of  the  United  states  is  to- 
vday — where  the  opportunities  lie  that  if  taken  advantage  of  are  sure  to 
ilead  to  success,  we  say,  the  time  is  at  hand.  To  all  classes  who  are  not 
satisfied  with  their  lot,  who  are  honest  and  industrious,  we  say  stop  your 
< digging  for  gold  where  it  does  not  exist.  The  time  has  come  and  the  chances 
. and  opportutiity  of  a lifetime  are  now  offered. 


NATURE’S  DOWERY. 


T IS  a well  known  fact,  and  a matter  of  history,  that  previous  to-' 
I the  civil  war  that  wrecked  the  Southern  States,  both  financially 
and  industrially,  they  led  the  American  continent  in  the  production 
of  wealth.  No  section  of  the  country  at  that  time  attempted  to  com- 
pare or  compete  with  them  with  what  in  those  days  seemed  collossal  and 
gigantic  enterprises  and  undertakings.  It  was  in  the  Southern  States 
that  many  of  the  brainiest  men  of  America  were  born  and  raised.  It 
was  in  the  Southern  States  that  the  largest  charitable  institutions  were 
maintained.  They  possessed  the  largest  plantations,  the  most  elegant 
homes  and  it  was  there  that  civilization,  culture  and  refinement  found 
its  cradling  place  and  spread  as  from  a common  center  in  every  direc- 
tion until  its  influence  was  felt  all  over  the  land.  It  would  be  well  for  us 
to  stop  for  a moment  and  look  for  the  cause  of  this  prosperity.  It  can 
be  found  with  but  little  searching.  It  was  emblazoned  all  over  the 
Southern  States.  From  their  geographical  location,  from  climatic  con- 
ditions, and  from  the  thousands  of  natural  resources  and  advantages 
hey  possessed  over  other  sections,  they  were  the  lap  of  luxury 
into  which  all  other  sections  should  pour  tribute.  The  history  of 
the  bitter  struggle  for  four  long  years  and  its  termination  in  which  the 
Southern  States  lost  their  all,  their  capital,  their  slaves,  their  homes 
and  their  credit,  with  millions  of  people  thrown  back  on  their  own  re- 
sources, is  fresh  in  the  minds  of  many,  and  it  naturally  took  fifteen  long 
years  to  get  the  Southern  people  back  to  that  condition  where  they  were 
prepared  to  go  to  work  intelligently  to  recover  their  fallen  fortunes. 
The  rapidity  with  which  they  have  recovered  during  the  past  fifteen 
years  from  the  effects  of  burned  cities,  wasted  plantations  and  utter  de- 
vastation and  ruin  challenges  the  admiration  of  the  world  and  brings 
prominently  before  the  honest  inquirer  again*  the  fact  of  their  many 
natural  resources  and  advantages. 

The  evidences  of  prosperity  today  to  be  seen  all  over  the  Southern 
States  and  the  results  that  have  been  accomplished  in  the  past  ten  or 


Nature’s  Dowery. 


9 


fifteen  years,  stand  as  a living  monument  and  witness  to  the  fertility  of 
the  soil,  the  healthfulness  of  the  climate  and  the  valuableness  of  its  tim- 
ber and  its  mineral  and  other  unlimited  resources,  and  proves  conclu- 
sively that  the  South  possesses  all  the  requirements  necessary  for  the 
upbuilding  and  maintenance  of  a great  commonwealth  in  a greater  de- 
gree than  any  other  section  of  the  United  States.  Neither  the  East  nor 
the  West,  or  any  section  of  the  North  could  have  accomplished  what  the 
South  has  accomplished  in  the  last  ten  years  under  the  same  conditions 
and  circumstances.  While  the  Southern  States  as  a whole  are  exceed- 
ingly rich  in  fertile  agricultural  lands,  in  their  inexhaustible  supply  of 
coal  and  mineral,  and  in  their  untouched  forests  of  valuable  timber,  still 
all  sections  of  it  have  not  been  treated  alike  in  the  distribution  of 
nature’s  wealth  and  blessings.  No  matter  into  what  country  or  state 
you  may  go,  North,  South,  East  or  West,  some  particular  section  will 
be  found  to  have  been  favored  to  a greater  extent  than  others.  Some 
particular  section  may  excel  in  the  fertility  of  its  soil,  some  for  the  manu- 
facturing opportunities  it  offers,  others  as  a stock  or  fruit  country.  Some 
possess  a source  of  wealth  in  its  climate,  some  are  made  rich  by  the 
value  of  its  timber  and  water  courses,  but  what  shall  be  said  of  the 
value  of  the  section  possessing  all  of  these  advantages  combined. 
You  can  find  them  in  Louisiana.  The  Dakotas  for  small  grain,  Minne- 
sota, Michigan  and  Wisconsin  for  lumber,  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  Illinois 
and  Iowa  for  cattle,  hogs  and  corn,  Florida  and  California  for  fruit  and 
climate,  and  Louisiana  for  all  of  them. 

Lying  in  the  southwest  portion  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  is  what  is 
known  as  the  prairie  region  of  the  State,  and  if  there  is  one  spot  upon 
the  face  of  all  the  earth  where  the  Creator  and  all  nature  have  united  in 
lavishing  their  gifts  it  is  here  in  this  section.  If  there  is  one  section  of 
country  in  all  this  broad  land  where  the  people  fear  not  the  floods  nor 
the  drouths;  where  the  talk  of  cyclones  and  blizzards  are  as  an  unknown 
tongue;  where  the  chintz  bugs  and  the  grasshoppers  have  never  played 
havoc  with  the  husbandman’s  prospects,  and  where  each  year  the  farmer 
has  never  failed  to  make  an  abundant  crop,  it  is  here  in  Southwest 
Louisiana.  If  there  is  one  fault  that  can  be  charged  to  this  section  it 
is  that  it  was  not  made  large  enough. 

Bordering  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  extending  back  a distance  of 
seventy-five  miles  and  beginning  on  the  west  side  of  the  Vermilion  River, 
and  extending  west  one  hundred  miles,  covering  an  area  of  between 


IO 


Nature’s  Dowery 


seven  and  eight  thousand  square  miles,  and  containing  about  five  mil- 
lion acres  is  a country  of  great  natural  beauty,  and  one  the  tourist  or 
traveler  never  forgets  when  once  he  has  visited  or  seen  it.  No  land- 
scape artist  can  correctly  portray  the  natural  beauty  of  this  prairie  land; 
or  we  might  well  say  of  this  woodland  country  with  its  undulating 
prairies,  its  great  bodies  of  timber,  its  navigable  streams  and  its  climate 
that  is  the  envy  of  the  world.  Add  to  this  the  possibilities  that  present 
themselves  when  one  investigates  the  advantages  and  opportunities 
offered,  and  then  form  an  estimate  of  the  value  of  these  lands  for  a home 
or  a field  in  which  to  labor.  There  are  several  important  features  upon 
which  those  seeking  homes  in  a new  country  should  post  themselves  be- 
fore locating.  The  chief  of  these  is  the  healthfulness  of  a climate,  its 
liability  to  epidemics,  the  longevity  of  its  citizens — whether  the  profits 
of  the  year’s  labors  are  to  find  their  way  into  the  pockets  of  the  prac- 
ticing physician  and  patent  medicine  vendor,  while  the  poor  victim 
drags  out  a miserable  existance.  Good  health  all  are  seeking  to  gain  or 
to  keep.  For  it  a man  will  hunt  in  every  corner  of  the  globe,  from  the 
highest  peaks  in  the  Rockies  to  the  low  lands  of  the  coast  country; 
from  the  rock-ribbed  shores  of  Maine  to  the  flowering  fields  of  the 
orient.  No  time  or  expense  is  too  great,  no  distance  too  long  to  over- 
come to  find  health.  For  it  we  become  exiles  from  home,  families  and 
friends;  for  it  we  go  barefooted  in  winter  and  wear  woolen  boots  and 
wooden  shoes  in  summer;  for  it  we  freeze  ourselves  in  high,  cold  al- 
titudes and  boil  our  poor  bodies  in  the  Hot  Springs  of  Arkansas.  It  is 
the  one  priceless  boon  and  best  gift  of  God  to  man. 

No  sane  man  will  risk  the  life,  health  and  happiness  of  himself  and 
his  family  where  the  chances  are  that  they  will  be  striken  with  disease. 
If  there  is  a healthy  place  on  earth  find  it. 

No  state  in  the  Union  has  been  maligned  in  this  respect  to  a greater 
degree  than  has  Louisiana.  You  have  been  taught  to  believe  that 
Louisiana  was  one  vast  swamp,  and  that  these  swamps  were  continu- 
ously giving  off  a poisonous  vapor  charged  and  filled  with  germs  of  ma- 
laria, typhoid  and  yellow  fevers;  that  only  the  man  born  and  raised 
here,  or  the  negro,  could  withstand  the  deadly  effects  of  this  Southern 
climate.  You  have  been  told  that  the  burning  rays  of  this  almost  trop- 
ical sun  would  soften  the  brain,  parch  the  skin  and  set  the  very  blood  to 
boiling  in  ones  veins,  especially  if  he  came  from  the  North.  It  would  be 


Nature’s  Dowery 


i i 

hard  to  tell  who  told  you  so,  or  where  you  got  the  impression  from,  or 
to  give  any  good  and  plausible  reason  as  to  why  it  should  be  so,  and  yet 
you  have  made  the  mistake  all  these  years  of  believing  it  without  inves- 
tigating the  facts.  If  there  is  one  city  in  the  State  of  Louisiana  that 
would  naturally  have  a higher  death  rate  than  others,  owing  to  its  situ- 
ation below  the  level  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  to  its  mixed  population 
and  their  manner  of  living,  it  is  the  city  of  New  Orleans;  but  bad  as 
would  seem  it  ought  to  be,  we  will  compare  it  with  other  cities  of  this 
and  other  countries,  and  then  accept  the  record  it  sustains  as  a basis 
from  which  to  calculate  the  health  conditions  of  Southwest  Louisiana. 
We  only  ask  that  the  usual  difference  between  a crowded  city,  largely 
made  up  of  a foreign  population,  and  the  open  prairie  country  be  credited 
to  our  account. 

For  the  comparison  and  statistics  herein  furnished  we  are  largely 
indebted  to  Prof.  J.  Hanno  Deiler,  of  the  Tulane  University,  and  to  the 
United  States  Census  Bureau  of  vital  statistics,  which  places  the  death 
rate  per  thousand  among  the  'white  people  of  Louisiana  at  15.12.  The 


rate  in  other  states  is  : 

Maryland 16.08 

Delaware 16.47 

New  Mexico 16.82 

New  Hampshire 17.43 

Connecticut 18.97 

District  of  Columbia 19.67 

Massachusetts 19.89 

New  York  State 20.04 

New  Jersey 20.44 

Rhode  Island 21.55 


From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  none  of  the  states  mentioned  can 
compare  with  Louisiana  in  the  way  of  a low  death  rate.  Who  would 
have  the  effrontery  to  say  that  New  York  state  with  its  elegant  and  com- 
fortable homes,  with  its  millions  of  money  with  which  to  purchase  all  the 
necessities  and  luxuries  of  life;  or  that  Massachusetts  with  its  Puritan 
ways,  and  where  the  masses  are  educated  in  the  science  of  hygiene  and 
correct  living,  are  unhealthy,  and  yet  they  are  extremely  so  as  compared 
with  Louisiana. 

In  regard  to  the  principal  causes  of  death  it  may  be  said  that  the  most 
dreaded  disease  of  all  is  consumption.  It  is  a well  known  fact  that  thou- 


12 


Nature’s  Dowery 


sands  in  the  davanced  stages  of  this  disease  annually  come  South  for  the 
possible  benefit  they  may  receive,  and  to  escape  the  rigors  of  a Northern 
winter.  New  Orleans  being  the  metropolis  of  the  South  naturally  catches 
a large  proportion  of  these  invalids,  and  yet  New  Orleans  with  this  sur- 
plus of  consumptives  is  able  to  more  than  hold  her  own  with  many  of  the 
other  healthy  cities  of  the  land.  Of  all  the  deaths  that  occur  in  New 
Orleans  only  12. 10  percent  are  caused  by  consumption,  while  other  cities 


stand  as  follows: 

Boston 15*15 

New  York 13.53 

Louisville,  Ky 12.89 

Chicago,  111 17.66 

San  Francisco,  Cal 18.92 

St.  Paul,  Minn 16.08 

Providence,  R.  L 13.57 

While  the  German  Empire  has 12.70 

Belgium 18.20 

Russia 19.60 


The  next  greatest  mortality  is  caused  by  diarrhoeal  disease.  New 
Orleans  also  makes  an  excellent  showing  when  compared  to  other  large 
cities  of  the  United  States,  with  a low  rate  of  10.37  Per  cent  of  all  deaths 
occurring  from  this  cause,  while  other  large  cities  stand  as  follows: 


New  York 10.52 

Detroit 11.27 

Baltimore 12.40 

St.  Paul 13*52 

St.  Louis 14.02 

Chicago 14.09 


Pneumonia  is  the  next  of  the  deadly  foes  of  mankind,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  dangerous  diseases  that  medical  science  and  skill  have  to  com- 
bat. Here  again  New  Orleans  holds  and  sustains  the  record  she  has  made 
as  a healthy  city  and  easily  takes  precedence  among  the  large  cities  of 
America,  comparing  favorably  with  many  foreign  countries  where  this 
disease  is  almost  unknown.  The  statistics  of  the  different  cities  and 


countries  prove  as  follows: 

New  Orleans 

St.  Louis 

Chicago 

Cincinnati 


4*97 

7*39 

8.85 

9*39 


Nature’s  Ddwery 


i3 


Boston 10. 13 

New  York 1 1.03 

The  German  Empire 4.00 

Belgium 4. 50 

England 5.10 

Italy 5.40 

Holland 5. 70 

Scandinavia 7.10 

Russia 11.50 


If  there  is  one  ghostly  apparation  that  the  intelligent  and  honest 
upholder  of  Louisiana  health  condition  meets  at  every  turn  it  is  the  cry 
of,  “Malaria,  malaria!  You  cannot  live  in  Louisiana  on  account  of 
malaria.”  You  have  been  taught  to  believe  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
State  are  living  walking  skeletons,  that  their  bones  rattle  and  shake  with 
ague,  that  the  peach  trees  shake  off  their  fruit  and  that  potatoes  shake 
themselves  out  of  the  ground — that  there  can  hardly  be  found  room  to 
bury  the  victims  of  malerial  fevers.  You  could  never  make  a 
mistake  in  your  life  than  accept  such  belief. 

The  United  States  statistics  show  that  during  the  last  census  year 
there  died  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans  only  292  persons  from  malarial 
fever,  or  only  one  person  in  eight  hundred  and  twenty-eight,  making 
malarial  diseases  responsible  for  only  4.26  per  cent  of  the  total  deaths. 
This  is  an  exceedingly  low  rate  when  one  remembers  that  out  of  every 
hundred  deaths  in  France,  seven  are  caused  by  typhoid  fever,  and  out 
of  every  hundred  deaths  in  Germany,  four  and  a half  are  from  the  same 
cause,  and  yet  one  would  not  protest  against  their  family  or  friends  locat- 
ing in  France  or  Germany  on  account  of  typhoid  fever.  In  the  town 
of  Crowley,  La.,  which  is  the  center  of  the  prairie  district  and  has  a 
population  of  over  2,000,  there  have  been  but  five  deaths  in  eight  years 
from  malarial  diseases. 

We  will  next  call  your  attention  to  the  percentage  of  fatalities  by 
typhoid  fever,  and  here  again  New  Orleans  stands  at  the  head  with  a 
smaller  percentage  of  deaths  from  this  wasting  disease  than  any  other 
American  city  in  the  land.  The  comparison  with  other  cities  stand  as 


follows: 

New  Orleans 65 

Baltimore 1.87 

San  Francisco 2.35 

Philadelphia 3.24 


14 


Nature’s  Dowery 


Chicago 3*42 

Louisville,  Ky 3*47 

St.  Paul 4.10 

Pittsburg 5.83 

Omaha 4.02 

New  York 3*98 

The  German  Empire 4.50 

Belgium 4.60 

Russia 4.80 

France 7.00 


The  yellow  fever  scare  used  to  be  another  great  source  of  talk  in  the 
.Northern  states,  but  during  the  past  seventeen  years  in  which  there  has 
mot  been  a single  case  in  the  State  of  Louisiana  we  have  not  heard  so  much 
about  it.  It  used  to  be  considered  indigenous  to  Louisiana,  but  this  is  a 
mistake.  Yellow  fever  is  never  found  within  the  State  unless  imported 
from  some  infected  southern  port.  The  old  idea  that  the  germs  of  the 
disease  remained  in  our  soil  and  were  bred  in  the  natural  conditions  of 
our  climate  have  long  since  been  exploded.  The  city  of  New  Orleans 
and  the  State  of  Louisiana  are  in  no  more  danger  from  yellow  fever 
than  the  city  of  New  York  or  Boston,  and  with  the  splendid  quarantine 
system  inaugurated  by  Dr.  Holt  the  people  of  Louisiana  never  give  the 
subject  a thought. 

Now,  taking  New  Orleans  as  a basis  from  which  to  figure  the  health 
conditions  of  the  State,  it  will  be  seen  that  Louisiana  ranks  among  the  first 
states  of  the  Union  as  a desirable  place  in  which  to  live.  If  this  open 
prairie  country  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  State  had  its  just  dues  in 
comparison  with  New  Orleans  it  would  probably  make  a showing  thirty - 
three  and  one-third  per  cent  better  than  the  city. 

The  above  statistics  and  figures  are  facts  that  none  can  gainsay, 
and  are  the  result  of  Government  investigation,  and  while  they  may  be 
a source  of  surprise  to  many  they  are  nevertheless  true.  Yet  while 
they  are  correct  and  easily  verified,  there  are  many  doubting  Thomases 
who  will  not  investigate,  but  still  dispute  and  deny  them. 


CLIMATE  OF  LOUISIANA 


CLIMATIC  CONDITION  is  an  important  point  on  which  the* 
prospective  immigrant  should  be  enlightened.  Extremes  of  heat; 
and  cold  are  the  most  serious  obstacles  in  the  way  of  many  other- 
wise prosperous  sections.  They  are  not  only  a source  of  annoyance  and 
hardship  within  themselves  but  far  reaching  in  their  detrimental  results. 
History  and  experience  teaches  that  the  highest  forms  of  life,  and  the 
greatest  development  in  the  animal,  vegetable  and  mineral  kingdoms 
have  been  found  in  the  warmer  climates  and  southern  countries,  and 
vice  versa.  For  the  pigmies  in  animal  life,  both  intellectually  and 
physically,  go  to  the  ice-bound  coasts  of  Lapland  or  Iceland  or  other- 
countries  of  the  far  north.  One  of  the  most  important  requirements 
for  a desirable  and  advantageous  climate  is  an  evenness  of  temperature. 
To  this  end  the  extreme  difference  between  the  hottest  and  the  coldest 


weather  should  not  be  great;  in  other  words,  choose  such  climates  as  are 
subject  to  the  least  range  of  temperature,  always  avoiding  sudden 
changes  and  great  extremes.  It  is  the  sudden  changes  in  temperature 
that  are  largely  responsible  for  the  excessively  high  death  rate  from 
pneumonia  and  catarrhal  diseases  throughout  the  Northern  states,  and 
from  which  Louisiana  and  other  Southern  states  are  so  free. 

From  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau  we  find  that  for  the  year 
1894,  ending  September  1,  that  the  difference  between  the  hottest  and. 


the  coldest  day  of  the  year  was: 

New  Orleans 84 

Pennsacola,  Fla 84 

Sacramento,  Cal 89 

Jacksonville,  Fla 89 

Mobile,  Ala 90 

Atlanta,  Ga 102 

Montgomery,  Ala 102 

New  York  City 106 


Climate  of  Louisiana. 


i7 


Philadelphia 

Baltimore 

Little  Rock 

Memphis 

Santa  Fe 

Nashville 

Portland,  Me 

Boston : 

Pittsburg \ 

Cincinnati 

Chicago 

Columbus,  Ohio 

Louisville,  Ky 

St.  Louis,  Mo 

Denver,  Colo 

Des  Moines,  Iowa 

Dubuque,  Iowa 

Leavenworth,  Kan 

Omaha,  Neb 

St.  Paul,  Minn 

Yankton,  Dak 

Valentine,  Neb 

Ft.  Bradford,  N.  Dak 

St.  Vincent,  Minn 

Roplae  River,  Mont 


107 

108 
108 
1 10 
1 10 

114 
1 r4 

115 

115 

1 16 
123 
123 

125 

128 
134 
i34 
T34 
136 
138 
I4I 
1 4 1 

144 

156 

157 
i73 


From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  Louisiana  has  a uniform  tem- 


perature, and  that  it  leads  all  of  the  states  in  the  eveness  of  its  climate. 
The  old  theory  and  impression  that  the  further  south  you  go  the 
hotter  it  gets  is  an  erroneous  one.  The  further  south  you  go  the  more 
hot  or  warm  weather  you  have,  but  not  the  extreme  heat. 

Again  we  must  refer  to  statistics ' furnished  by  the  United  States 
Weather  Bureau.  During  the  year  1894  the  highest  temperature  re- 
corded in  various  cities  was: 


New  Orleans 99 

Chicago 100 

Milwaukee,  Wis 100 

St.  Paul,  Minn 100 

La  Crosse,  Wis 101 

San  Diego,  Cal 101 

Philadelphia 102 

Baltimore 102 


i8 


Climate  of  Louisiana 


Boston 102 

Columbus,  Ohio 103 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 104 

Louisville,  Ky 105 

St.  Louis 106 

Omaha,  Neb 106 

Leavenworth,  Kan 107 

North  Platte,  Neb 107 

Ft.  Bradford,  N.  Dak 107 

Yankton,  Dak 107 

Sacramento,  Cal 108 

Red  Bluff,  Cal 114 

Yuma,  Ariz  118 


The  above  statistics  are  sufficient  to  show  that  Louisiana  does  not 
have  the  excessive  heat  that  has-been  accredited  to  it.  Now  as  to  the 
low  temperature.  It  is  a well  known  fact  Louisiana  has  no  winter  to 
speak  ot  and  only  twice  in  twenty  years  has  sufficient  snow  fallen  to  cover 
the  ground.  Ice  seldom  forms,  the  average  winter  temperature  being 
about  68  to  70  degrees,  while  in  most  of  the  other  cities  mentioned  the 
mercuy  falls  so  far  below  zero  in  winter  that  it  goes  out  of  sight  and 
there  is  no  use  looking  for  it.  The  climate  of  Southwest  Louisiana  is  one 
of  the  most  delightful  in  the  world,  both  winter  and  summer.  Being  a 
prairie  country  and  only  thirty  miles  from-the  Gulf  of  Mexico  it  enjoys  a. 
delightful  breeze  day  and  night,  which  tempers  the  heat  of  summer  and 
the  cold  of  winter.  Northern  men  are  able  to  work  out  of  doors  during 
the  hottest  weather  of  the  summer  without  inconvenience,  and  while  we 
are  continually  hearing  of  heat  prostration  and  sun  strokes  throughout 
the  North  and  West  such  a thing  has  never  been  heard  of  in  Southwest 
Louisiana.  The  warmest  time  of  day  is  from  6 to  8 o’clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, after  which  hours  the  gulf  breeze  springs  up  and  renders  the  balance 
of  the  day  moderately  cool  and  pleasant. 

The  precipitation  of  moisture  is  an  important  factor  in  considering 
the  value  or  the  desirableness  of  a climate,  as  one  cannot  live  on  climate 
alone,  though  it  may  be  the  only  recommendation  that  some  sections 
have  to  offer.  To  have  a desireable  climate,  there  must  be  sufficient  mois- 
ture for  the  successful  growing  and  maturing  of  all  such  crops  as  are  in- 
digenous to  that. particular  section,  and  this  should  be  evenly  distributed 
throughout  the  entire  year.  Deliver  us  from  a country  where  the  burning 


Climate  of  Louisiana 


19 


rays  of  Old  Sol  blisters  your  back  and  burns  up  vegetation  for  six  months 
in  succession  without  rain  or  clouds,  and  then  for  the  balance  of  the  year 
hides  his  face  behind  a bank  of  fog  and  drizzling  mist  or  a steady  down 
pour  of  rain. 

The  annual  rainfall  of  Louisiana  is  quite  evenly  distributed 
throughout  every  month  in  the  year.  A wise  Creator  has  arranged  it 
thus  to  meet  the  necessity  of  agricultural  pursuits  which  are  carried  on 
the  entire  twelve  months.  Louisiana,  as  compared  to  other  states,  does 
not  suffer  from  drouths,  her  average  annual  rainfall  being  64  inches, 


with  other  states  as  follows: 

Oregon 49 

Missouri 48 

Kentucky 46 

Indiana 44 

Illinois 43 

Ohio 41 

Kansas 38 

Michigan 37 

Iowa 37 

Nebraska 33 

Wisconsin 32 

Minnesota 32 

South  Dakota 27 

California 27 

North  Dakota 19 

Arizona 16 

Montanna 15 

Idaho 13 

Wyoming 11 


Now,  when  one  considers  that  California,  Oregon  and  Washington, 
each  are  as  dry  as  a powder  house  during  all  of  the  summer  months  with 
what  rainfall  they  have  coming  during  the  winter;  and  when  we  consider 
that  the  precipitation  of  moisture  throughout  the  states  of  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  North  and  South  Dakota,  Iowa,  Indiana,  Illinois 
and  all  of  the  other  Northern  states  largely  comes  to  them  in  the  form 
of  snow  and  ice  during  the  winter  months  when  the  ground  is  frozen  and 
cannot  take  care  of  it,  we  cannot  help  but  see  the  cause  for  so  many 
crop  failures  from  drouths.  If  we  stop  to  think  we  must  certainly  ap- 


20 


Climate  of  Louisiana 


preciate  the  advantage  that  Louisiana  offers  with  her  64  inches  of  rain- 
fall evenly  distributed  throughout  the  year. 

SOUTHWEST  LOUISIANA  may  be  divided  into  two  grand  divisions. 
One,  the  prairie  lands,  all  of  which  are  rich  agricultural  lands  well 
adapted  to  the  growing  and  maturing  of* all  crops  indigenous  to  a semi- 
tropical  country;  and  the  woodlands  or  forests,  covered  with  an  abund- 
ance of  valuable  timber  of  many  varieties,  such  as  are  found  only  in 
the  semi-tropics.  Among  the  many  crops  that  here  reach  the  highest 
state  of  perfection  may  be  mentioned  cotton,  sugar  cane,  corn,  oats, 
rice,  millet,  broom  corn,  tobacco,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  as  well  as 
all  kinds  of  vegetables  and  fruits  of  nearly  every  variety.  No  better 
soil  or  climate  can  be  found  on  the  American  Continent  for  vegetable 
farming  or  truck  gardening.  Here  all  of  the  conditions  necessary  for 
the  successful  carrying  on  of  this  industry  will  be  found — a soil  and 
climate  which  renders  the  production  of  two  crops  a year  not  only  a 
possibility,  but  a certainty  if  given  proper  care  and  attention.  In  the 
center  of  this  prairie  district  is  the  famous  and  popular  young  parish, 
or  county  of  Acadia.  We  say  famous  because  no  section  of  the  United 
States  during  the  past  five  years  has  attracted  more  attention  or  pro- 
voked more  favorable  comment.  The  parish  of  Acadia  was  set  off  from 
the  old  parish  of  St.  Landry  in  October,  1886.  Previous  to  this  time 
this  section  was  but  little  known,  and  had  made  no  advancement  for 
fifty  years.  Acadia  parish  embraces  640  square  miles,  or  409,800  acres, 
three  fourths  of  which  are  rolling  agricultural  lands  or  level  rice  fields. 
The  balance,  or  one  fourth  of  the  parish,  is  heavily  timbered  with  pine, 
cypress,  ash,  oak,  hickory,  magnolia,  holly  and  gum,  of  which  there  are 
several  varieties.  It  is  seldom  you  can  find  so  large  a scope  of  country 
of  640  square  miles  of  land  with  hardly  an  acre  waste  land — in  it  no 
swamps  or  bogs,  no  hills,  no  rocks  or  stones,  with  every  square  inch  of 
territory  as  valuable  as  land  can  be  in  a country  with  a magnificent 
climate  and  where  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  unsurpassed. 


THE  RICE  INDUSTRY. 


ACADIA  PARISH  is  in  the  center  of  the  great  rice  raising  district 
of  Louisiana  and  the  degree  of  success  that  has  been  attained 
and  the  enormous  profits  derived  from  this  industry  have  made 
the  parish  famous  all  over  the  United  States.  As  the  rice  industry- 
has  done  most  for  this  section  of  country  and  stands  first  in  monetary 
value,  it  shall  receive  first  attention  at  our  hands. 

An  erroneous  impression  has  always  existed  as  to  the  manner  of  rais- 
ing rice. 

Throughout  the  Northern  states  the  idea  prevails  that  rice  is  raised 
altogether  in  swamps,  and  that  land  suited  to  the  culture  of  rice  must  be 
valueless  for  other  purposes.  Our  old  geography  was  largely  responsible 
for  this  idea.  The  writer  well  remembers  the  pictures  displayed  in  these 
old  school  books,  showing  the  natives  of  Louisiana  gathering  rice  in  boats 
and  hauling  it  to  dry  land,  usually  with  a huge  alligator  or  crocodile  fal- 
lowing in  the  wake  of  the  boat  ready  to  swallow  the  largest  membeWbf 
the  party  should  he  chance  to  fall  overboard.  This  may  have  beettifrhe 
custom,  and  may  still  be  in  some  of  the  Southern  Islands,  busftasfsbof 
Louisiana  know  of  no  such  method  of  raising  rice  in  our  States!  iWwc^et 
along  very  nicely  without  the  boat  or  the  alligator.  .nhsib  saw 

The  only  thing  required  to  raise  rice  in  Southwest  LouisJaamlis  t^qel 
ground,  and  water  enough  to  flood  it.  Rice  is  a cereal  plaids  qfithbaQryjza 
family,  and  is  a native  of  China,  Japan  and  many  of, 
lands.  To  a large  extent  it  forms  the  staple  article  of 
tries,  and  when  properly  cooked  and  prepared  it  isjy^y oPH&r i^o^ -&pd 
is  easily  digested.  There  are  many  varieties  of  ric^rjtji^^tgie^g^heat  or 
other  small  grain,  each  having  its  own  peculiarity-^ rFM'M^s  sy^igh^pe 
and  value,  due  no  doubt  to  the  different  countries!  tyoha/  \tfe^amd^qoj^s. 
The  commercial  names  of  the  most  popular  ivkrfetidslfaow  in//uisieliii(t)he 
United  States  are  the  Honduras,  Carolina-^  TbThi  c'aS’dal 


22 


The  Rice  Industry 


observer  these  rices  may  all  look  alike,  still  there  is  a marked  difference. 
The  Honduras  is  much  the  longer  and  broader  kernel  and  derives  its 
name  from  the  fact  that  the  seed  originally  came  from  Honduras.  The 
Carolina  rice  is  a smaller  kernel  than  the  Honduras  and  requires  less 
water  for  its  cultivation.  It  is  known  as  the  Carolina  from  the  fact  that 
it  has  been  raised  in  the  Carolinas  for  many  years,  being  the  best  adapted 
to  that  soil  and  clirhate,  and  it  is  often  raised  on  dry  upland  without 
flooding,  the  crop  being  planted  in  rows  and  cultivated  like  corn.  The 
Japan  variety  is  a shorter  berry  than  either  of  the  other  varieties  and  is 
also  much  larger  in  circumference,  and  while  the  straw  is  much  finer  and 
shorter  the  yield  is  more  prolific  and  brings  a higher  price. 

For  the  growing  and  successful  maturity  of  rice  it  requires  a pe- 
culiarity of  soil  and  climate  that  is  found  nowhere  in  the  United  States 
in  such  a marked  degree  as  here  in  Southwest  Louisiana.  The  land  is 
prepared  the  same  as  for  wheat  or  other  small  grain  and  the  seed  then 
sown  broadcast  or  in  drills,  about  one  and  one  fourth  bushels  being 
used  to  the  acre.  When  the  crop  comes  up  it  resembles  nothing  so  much 
as  a Dakota  wheat  field,  the  blades  when  first  appearing  being  identical 
in  shape  and  color  with  wheat.  Level  land  or  that  as  nearly  so  as  possi- 
ble should  be  selected  for  a rice  farm.  Before  the  crop  is  planted  levees 
are  thrown  up  around  the  fields  for  the  purpose  of  holding  water  on  them. 
This  work  is  usually  done  with  large  levee  plows  made  for  the  purpose. 
When  the  rice  is  from  six  to  twelve  inches  in  height  it  should  be  flooded 
with  water.  In  the  early  history  of  the  industry  the  natural  rainfall  was 
depended  upon  for  this  purpose  and  rice  was  only  planted  upon  the 
lowest  lands,  using  the  higher  lands  for  watersheds  from  which  the  water 
was  drained  into  the  rice  fields;  but  as  rice  raising  depends  upon  a sup- 
ply of  water  there  was  always  a degree  of  uncertainty  that  rendered  the 
possibility  of  a failure  or  partial  failure  not  improbable.  Especially  was 
this  so  in  view  of  the  large  profits  that  were  being  made  and  the  conse- 
quent temptation  on  the  part  of  planters  to  encroach  upon  higher  lands  in 
order  to  raise  more  rice. 

Today  all  of  this  has  been  changed  by  a well  regulated  system  of  ir- 
rigation. Streams  are  dammed  up,  canals  are  made  and  large  pumping 
plants  erected  which  supply  water  to  the  highest  lands  on  the  prairies. 
Of  this  we  shall  treat  later  in  these  pages.  Rice  should  be  flooded  at 
from  two  to  twelve  inches  and  kept  flooded  during  all  of  the  growing  sea- 


The  Rice  Industry 


23 


son  until  the  heads  have  become  filled  and  the  crop  begins  to  ripen,  when 
the  levees  are  cut  and  the  water  allowed  to  run  off,  thus  giving  the  ground 
time  to  dry  and  harden  before  harvesting.  The  harvest  season  does  not 
differ  from  the  harvesting  of  wheat  or  oats  in  the  Northern  states.  After 
cutting  the  rice  is  allowed  to  stand  in  the  shock  from  two  to  three  weeks 
before  stacking,  as  owing  to  the  excessive  amount  of  moisture  in  the 
straw  it  takes  longer  to  dry  out  than  other  grain.  The  crop  is  harvested 
at  the  same  expense  and  in  the  same  manner  with  self-binding  harvesters 
as  other  small  grain.  The  yield  is  about  three  times  that  of  wheat.  It 
is  threshed  by  the  steam  thresher  and  is  put  in  large  sacks  holding  about 
four  bushels,  when  it  is  ready  for  market. 

Under  favorable  conditions  it  produces  from  twelve  to  eighteen  bar- 
rels per  acre,  the  average  price  for  the  past  seven  years  being  $3  per 
barrel.  A barrel  consists  of  162  pounds,  which  gives  considerable  over 
$3.00  per  sack,  as  the  sacks  when  properly  filled  weigh  from  180  to  200 
pounds.  The  rice  then  goes  to  the  mill  to  be  milled  and  dressed,  fit  for 
consumption.  The  milling  of  rice  is  an  interesting  process  and  one 
from  which  the  miller  derives  large  profits.  The  rice  is  first  passed 
through  the  fanner  for  better  cleaning,  which  blows  out  all  of  the  chaff 
and  light  kernals.  The  grain  then  goes  to  the  millstones  which  re- 
semble the  ordinary  stones  for  grinding  wheat.  These  stones  are  set  far 
enough  apart  to  prevent  the  rice  from  being  broken,  or  just  close 
enough  to  crack  the  hull.  Another  fan  blows  these  hulls  away,  after 
which  'the  rice  goes  to  the  pounders,  consisting  of  large  egg-shaped 
morters  made  of  steel,  in  the  center  of  which  are  iron  pestles  that  keep 
the  rice  constantly  agitated.  This  process  lasts  from  forty  minutes  to 
one  hour  and  a half.  The  constant  friction  of  one  grain  against  the 
other  wears  off  the  outer  cuticle  of  the  berry  and  makes  the  grains 
smooth  and  white.  It  then  goes  to  the  reels  and  separators  where  the 
bran  is  separated  from  the  rice,  after  which  it  is  passed  through  the 
brushes.  These  are  made  of  sheep  skin  with  the  wool  left  on  the  skins, 
which  are  nailed  on  to  a perpendicular  shaft  that  revolves  at  a rapid 
rate,  and  the  rice  falling  down  from  the  second  story  becomes  thoroughly 
brushed  and  polished  while  passing  through  this  brush.  The  clean 
product  then  goes  to  the  graders  where  it  is  usually  separated  into  four 
grades,  the  head  rice  or  whole  grains  being  barreled  separately  and 
always  bringing  the  top  of  the  market.  Then  there  are  grades  number 


24 


The  Rice  Industry 


one  and  two  which  are  sold  for  lower  prices,  and  then  the  screenings 
which  are  sold  to  the  brewer  for  brewing  purposes.  Rice  makes  an  ex- 
cellent quality  of  beer  and  brewers  are  always  in  the  market  for  all  they 
can  get  at  good  figures. 

A barrel  of  162  pounds  of  rough  rice  is  supposed  to  mill  out  100 
pounds  of  clean  rice.  The  bran  and  polish  are  worth  fully  enough  to 
pay  for  the  cost  of  milling.  The  bran  is  the  outside  cuticle  of  the  berry 
after  the  hull  is  taken  off.  This  product  is  made  by  the  pounders  dur- 
ing the  scouring  process.  The  bran  sells  readily  at  from  $8.00  to 
$12.00  per  ton,  and  makes  a rich  and  nutricious  food  for  stock  and  is 
always  in  good  demand.  What  is  known  as  rice  polish  comes  from  the 
brushing  department,  and  is  as  fine  as  wheat  flour.  It  resembles 
buckwheat  flour  and  is  largely  used  for  bread,  hot  cakes,  etc.  It  sells 
for  from  $14.00  to  $18.00  per  ton. 

The  history  of  the  development  of  the  rice  industry  in  Southwest 
Louisiana  is  an  interesting  one,  and  dates  back  to  the  days  of  the  early 
settlement  of  this  section  by  the  decendants  of  the  Acadians  who  raised 
it  in  small  patches  for  their  own  consumption.  The  rice  was  harvested 
with  sickles  or  reap  hooks  and  was  threshed  out  with  flails  by  hand.  The 
hulls  were  then  removed  by  putting  the  rice  in  wooden  morters,  usually 
a section  of  oak  log  placed  on  end  which  had  been  scalloped  out.  Two 
wooden  pestles,  one  in  each  hand,  were  used  for  pounding  the  grain. 
After  the  hulls  had  been  removed  it  was  poured  from  one  dish  into 
another  and  fanned  by  the  wind  until  the  hulls  were  blown  away.  This 
old  primitive  method  may  still  be  found  in  use  among  some  of  the  native 
French  people  of  this  section  at  the  present  time. 

Rice  was  first  raised  for  the  market  by  the  German  settlers  in  the 
northern  part  of  what  is  now  Acadia  parish  in  the  year  1875,  but  owing 
to  the  distance  from  town  and  the  transportation  facilities,  poor  roads, 
etc.,  only  small  fields  were  planted.  Not  until  the  year  1886,  when  St. 
Landry  parish  was  divided  and  the  new  parish  of  Acadia  created,  and 
the  new  town  of  Crowley  started,  did  the  industry  amount  to  much  and 
flourish.  About  this  time  began  the  immigration  movement,  and  with  it 
the  growth  of  the  rice  industry,  and  from  that  day  to  the  present  time 
the  march  of  progress  has  been  swift  and  rapid.  The  development  of 
this  industry  has  carried  every  other  branch  of  business  on  with  it  to 
success,  until  at  the  present  time  Acadia  parish  stands  before  the 


The  Rice  Industry 


25 


world  in  the  most  enviable  light  of  any  parish  or  county  in  any  agri- 
cultural state  in  the  Union.  To  such  a degree  of  success  has  the  in- 
dustry grown  that  from  Maine  to  California,  from  Florida  to  the  great 
lakes  on  the  north,  men  are  daily  inquiring,  “How  can  I obtain  a rice 
farm  in  Acadia?”  So  often  has  come  this  cry  that  during  the  past  few 
years  ten  thousand  people  from  the  Northern  and  Western  States  have 
found  homes  in  this  prairie  section  of  Louisiana,  the  most  of  whom  are 
raising  rice  today.  These  people  were  nearly  all  poor  when  they  came, 
many  of  them  without  means,  depending  on  their  daily  labor  for  bread, 
and  today  they  are  independent — they  own  their  own  farms,  which  are 
well  stocked  with  Northern  horses  and  mules,  new  and  improved  ma  - 
chinery;  ride  in  their  own  carriages,  are  out  of  debt  and  ready  to  rent 
their  farms  and  live  comfortably  on  half  their  income. 

There  is  probably  no  industry  in  any  agricultural  country  that  has 
rewarded  those  engaged  in  it  with  such  large  returns  as  rice  raising. 
Among  the  many  inducements  and  advantages  it  has  to  offer  the  planter 
are  the  quickness  of  the  returns,  the  smallness  of  the  outlay  and  capital 
invested,  the  reasonable  security  against  loss  or  failure,  and  the  large 
returns  for  the  time  and  labor  expended.  It  is  the  practical  questions  of 
every  day  life  that  stare  the  immigrant  in  the  face,  and  that  must  be 
answered  at  once,  especially  if  he  has  little  money.  Bread  and  butter 
must  be  had,  and  he  cannot  wait  for  stock  to  grow  up  and  mature, 
neither  can  he  wait  for  fruit  trees  to  come  into  bearing.  This  year’s, 
expenses  must  be  met.  Plant  a rice  crop  in  April  or  May  and  in  August 
or  September  you  have  the  returns  for  the  year’s  labor  in  your  pocket, 
as  it  requires  only  five  or  six  months  to  plant,  grow,  harvest  and  thresh 
the  crop.  The  outlay  for  the  production  of  a crop  is  not  large  when 
one  considers  the  returns.  It  costs  less  to  plant  an  acre  of  land  in 
Louisiana  than  it  does  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  or  Iowa.  The  cost  of  seed- 
ing, harrowing,  etc.,  are  the  same,  harvesting  a little  more  than  wheat, 
as  the  crop  is  heavier  and  fields  smaller;  threshing  less  per  bushel  than 
wheat,  because  the  yield  is  larger. 

We  shall  take  as  an  example  the  immigrant  who  lands  in  Acadia 
parish  and  wishes  to  buy  a rice  farm  of  say  160  acres: 


160  acres  will  cost  him  at  $15  $2400.00 

Houses  and  stables 500.00 

55  barrels  seed  rice  at  $3 165.00 


26 


The  Rice  Industry 


Hired  man  six  months  at  $ 20.00 120.00 

Two  spans  mules  and  harness  at  $275.00 550.00 

Wagon  and  machinery 250.00 

Feed  for  team 125.00 

Board  for  hired  man  six  months 72.00 

Fencing 250.00 

2,240  empty  rice  sacks  at  7cts 156.00 

Threshing  2,240  sacks  at  iocts 224.00 

Other  expense  threshing 100.00 


$4,912.00 

And  now  for  the  returns.  One  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  rice  at 
fifteen  barrels  per  acre  would  be  2,240  sacks,  and  this  is  no  more  than 
any  one-fourth  section  of  land  in  Acadia  parish  should  produce  if  well 
watered.  The  average  price  of  $3.00  per  sack  would  bring  a gross  in- 
come ot  $7,200.00.  This  would  leave  the  farmer,  after  paying  for  his 
farm,  fencing  and  building  his  house,  barns,  buying  teams,  seed,  and 
machinery  and  all  other  expenses  necessary  on  a farm  of  this  size, 
$2,288.00.  It  will  be  noticed  that  we  have  been  v^ry  liberal  in  our  es- 
timation of  expenses.  Many  of  the  items  might  be  reduced  consider- 
ably, thus  showing  larger  profits;  for  instance  a $300.00  house  would  do, 
mules  at  $150.00  a span  would  answer  instead  of  $275^00  mules,  but  as 
it  is  our  desire  to  show  the  average  probable  results  instead  of  making 
fancy  figures,  we  have  taken  a conservative  view  of  results  and  made  a 
liberal  estimate  of  expenses. 

Show  us  any  section  of  country  today  in  these  hard  times  when  all 
over  this  broad  land  farms  are  being  sold  for  taxes  and  interest  on 
mortages,  where  the  farmer  is  enabled  to  lay  by  enough  each  year  to 
pay  for  his  farm;  show  us  any  section  of  the  country  where  the  inhabit- 
ants are  satisfied  and  none  wish  to,  or  talk  of  moving  away;  show  us,  if 
you  please,  any  agricultural  section  where  the  real  estate  and  personal 
property  valuations  are  doubling  nearly  every  year,  and  where  farming 
lands  have  increased  in  value  from  twenty-five  cents  an  acre  eight  years 
ago  to  anywhere  from  $12.00  to  $35.00  per  acre  at  the  present  time. 
Show  us  all  these  and  then  perhaps  you  will  have  as  prosperous  a sec- 
tion as  Southwest  Louisiana,  provided  that  the  climate  is  all  that  could 
be  desired,  and  it  possessed  all  of  the  other  requirements  necessary. 

We  defy  the  East,  the  West,  the  North,  or  any  section  of  the  South 


The  Rice  Industry 


27 


— the  challange  is  open  to  the  world,  to  do  for  the  immigrant  what 
Southwest  Louisiana  has  done  for  her  people  during  the  past  eight 
years.  If  they  were  poor  when  they  came  she  has  clothed  and  fed  them, 
she  has  furnished  comfortable  homes  and  employment  for  all.  If  it  has 
not  made  them  rich,  it  has  at  least  made  them  independant.  If  they 
had  money  or  means  when  they  came  here,  it  has  added  thousands  to 
their  store.  If  they  were  sick  it  has  improved  their  failing  health. 

These  new  people  have  brought  to  Acadia  new  life,  energy,  and 
prosperity;  they  have  given  to  her  new  blood,  experience  and  capital, 
and  in  turn  she  is  fast  making  them  rich,  prosperous,  contented  and 
happy,  and  this  she  is  able  and  willing  to  do  for  you  if  you  will  come. 
What  others  have  accomplished  you  can  do,  and  you  ought  to  accom- 
plish more  because  the  opportunities  are  greater.  Never  in  the  history 
•of  this  section  of  the  country  has  there  been  such  opportunities  for  in- 
vestment as  at  the  present  time.  The  fame  of  this  section  has  gone 
abroad  over  all  the  land,  and  from  every  quarter  of  these  United  States 
are  coming  inquiries  for  land  and  homes  in  Acadia  parish,  and  every- 
thing indicates  that  the  coming  winter  will  witness  the  largest  immigra- 
tion that  Southwest  Louisiana  has  ever  had,  and  that  these  lands  which 
are  now  selling  for  nominal  figures  will  double  in  value  in  the  near 
future.  As  far  as  it  would  seem  that  the  rice  industry  has  been  de- 
veloped yet  it  is  still  in  its  infancy,  and  to  the  close  observer  and  those 
who  have  been  connected  with  its  development,  large  and  wonderful 
possibilities  present  themselves.  New  and  improved  methods  are  con- 
tinually presenting  themselves,  all  of  which  have  a tendency  to  cheapen 
the  cost  of  production  and  add  to  the  profit  of  the  planter  and  miller, 
and  also  to  eliminate  from  the  industry  any  degree  of  uncertainty  as  re- 
gards the  making  of  a crop. 

Probably  the  greatest  element  in  the  transformation  in  the  industry 
from  a small  and  insignificant  beginning  to  what  is  recognized  today  as 
one  of  the  leading  and  best  paying  industries  in  the  Southern  States, 
may  be  found  in  the  extensive  system  of  irrigation  that  has  been  estab- 
lished during  the  last  few  years.  Previous  to  this  time  rice  was  planted 
on  the  lowest  land,  using  the  highest  lands  for  water  sheds  from  which 
the  water  was  drained  into  the  rice  fields.  Then  began  the  damming  up 
of  the  gullies  and  natural  drains  of  the  land  for  storage  purposes,  fol- 
lowed by  the  throwing  up  of  the  huge  levees  around  low  tracts  and  al- 


28 


The  Rice  Industry 


lowing  them  to  fill  up  during  the  winter  months  with  water  for  a time  of 
need.  These  were  called  reservoirs,  out  of  which  the  water  was  pumped 
on  the  high  lands  with  pumps  of  four  or  five  foot  lift.  The  most 
sanguine,  believers  in  the  prosperity  of  this  industry  never  expected  to 
see  the  many  inexhaustible  streams  and  bayous  with  which  this  prairie 
region  abounds,  and  which  connects  the  large  bodies  of  fresh  water 
lakes  and  bays  lying  close  to  the  Gulf  coast,  utilized  for  irrigation  pur- 
poses, on  account  of  the  high  lift  from  these  streams,  being  in  many  in- 
stances as  much  as  twenty-five  feet.  But  the  problem  has  been  solved, 
and  that  by  our  own  people,  and  irrigation  of  Louisiana  lands  on  a large 
scale  is  as  much  a demonstrated  fact  as  it  is  in  California.  In  conse- 
quence thousands  upon  thousands  of  acres  of  high  land  that  was  sup- 
posed to  be  inaccessible  for  this  purpose  have  proven  to  be  a “bo- 
nanza” to  their  owners.  They  have  on  this  account  suddenly  developed 
an  intrinsic  value  that  readily  places  them  by  the  side  of  the  most 
valued  agricultural  lands  in  the  South.  Where  a few  years  ago  there 
might  be  seen  small  tracts  of  lands  with  levees  thrown  up  around  them, 
depending  entirely  on  the  rainfall,  or  receiving  their  supply  of  water 
from  small  pumps,  with  horse  power  or  a very  light  engine,  today  may 
be  seen  large  irrigation  plants  with  high  lift  pumps  of  a capacity  of 
millions  of  gallons,  and  engines  of  anywhere  from  50  to  150-horse  power 
capacity.  There  are  large  and  substantial  canals,  often  from  ten  to 
eighty  feet  wide,  and  deep  enough  to  run  a good  sized  boat  on,  extending 
back  into  the  country  from  two  to  ten  miles,  while  at  regular  intervals 
can  be  seen  the  latteral  ditches  through  which  the  water  is  taken  to 
flood  the  different  plantations. 

Among  the  largest  of  these  pumping  plants  may  be  mentioned  that 
of  the  Vermilion  Canal  Company  which  has  just  been  completed  and  is 
supplied  by  the  bayou  Queue-de-Tortue.  The  plant  comprises  six  fifteen 
inch  Morris  pumps,  propelled  by  two  250-horse  power  engines,  with  425- 
horse  power  boilers.  This  plant  has  a capacity  of  75,000  gallons  of  water 
per  minute  and  can  readily  flood  25,000  acres  of  ground  in  a season. 
These  pumps  deliver  their  water  into  a canal  eighty  feet  wide  and  six 
feet  deep  on  which  will  run  a large  sized  flat-boat. 

The  Messrs.  W.  W.  Duson  & Bro. , of  Crowley,  La.,  and  the  Abbott 
Bros,  have  also  erected  plants  of  similar  proportions.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  different  pumps  located  along  the  Mernlentau  river  and  its  tri- 


CUTTING  RICE  ON  THE  GREEN  & SHOEMAKER  PLANTATION. 


30 


The  Rice  Industry 


butaries  will  draw  from  this  stream  alone  500,000  gallons  per  minute,  for 
each  minute  they  run.  It  may  be  added  here  that  these  large  canals  are 
always  kept  on  the  highest  ridges  of  land  and  are  built  by  throwing  up 
parallel  levees  from  the  outside,  making  what  might  be  termed  an  over- 
land canal  instead  of  cutting  below  the  surface,  thus  keeping  the  water 
supply  above  all  lands  to  be  supplied.  This  system  of  irrigation  on  a 
large  scale  has  completely  revolutionized  rice  raising  in  Southwest  Louis- 
ana.  It  has  eliminated  many  of  the  disagreeable  features  from  the  in- 
dustry, not  the  least  among  which  was  an  uncertainty  attached  to  the 
planting  of  the  crop,  and  depending  for  its  success  upon  the  rainfall.  It 
has  placed  it  upon  a solid  and  profitable  basis  where  men  of  means  can 
engage  in  it  upon  a large  scale  without  prejudicing  the  advantages  of  the 
man  with  less  capital  who  farms  on  a small  scale;  and  more  than  this  it 
insures  to  him  a degree  of  success  both  as  to  quality  and  quantity  of  pro- 
duct that  cannot  be  obtained  where  an  unlimited  supply  of  water  is  at 
hand.  The  raising  of  rice  under  the  present  system  of  irrigation  is  re- 
duced to  a simple  business  proposition  and  on  which  any  man  of  fair 
business  ability  ought  to  be  able  to  figure  intelligently  and  arrive  at  a 
conclusion  as  to  the  profitableness  or  unprofitableness  of  rice 
raising.  The  cost  of  water,  which  is  one  of  the  most  expensive 
items  connected  with  this  industry  under  this  system,  has  been 
reduced  to  the  minimum,  as  a hundred  plantations  can  be 
supplied  from  one  plant,  at  fifty  per  cent  of  what  it  would 
cost  if  supplied  by  separate  plants  for  each  farm.  This  absolute  cer- 
tainty of  a crop  when  planted  tributary  to  these  large  canals  cannot  help 
but  be  of  vast  benefit  to  the  planter  in  the  way  of  an  improved  quality  of 
the  grain  as  well  as  an  increased  quantity  of  the  yield,  as  the  crop  ab- 
solutely requires  an  abundance  of  water  for  its  perfection  in  order  to  ob- 
tain the  highest  results. 

As  showing  something  of  the  enormous  proportions  that  the  rice  in- 
dustry is  assuming  it  may  be  said  that  in  1884  the  domestic  production 
of  rice  in  the  United  States  was  as  follows:  The  consumption  of  foreign 
rice  is  given  by  sacks  of  clean  rice  of  225  pounds  each. 

1884  domestic. . . 490,000  sacks.  Foreign. . . 333,000  sacks. 

1885  “ ...  600,000  “ “ ...  246,000  “ 

1886  “ ...  615,000  “ “ ...  208,000  “ 

1887  “ . . 448,000  “ ‘ ...  410,000  “ 


The  Rice  Industry 


3i 


1888 

4 4 

...  465,000  “ 

“ ...  491,000 

1890 

4 4 

. . . 500,000  “ 

“ ...  45°, 006 

1891 

4 4 

. . . 600,000  “ 

“ ...  500,000 

1892 

4 4 

. . . 1,000,000  “ 

“ ...  500,006 

1893 

4 4 

. . . 1,000,000  “ 

“ ...  500,000 

i894 

4 4 

. . . 1,000,000  “ 

“ ...  500,000 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  we  are  to-day  importing  about  one-half  of 
the  rice  that  is  consumed,  when  we  ought  to  raise  nearly  all  of  it.  Now 
when  we  consider  that  the  consumption  of  rice  is  constantly  increasing 
and  will  continue  to  increase  for  years  to  come — for  the  American  peo 
pie  are  only  beginning  to  be  consumers  of  this  valuable  food — and  when 
we  stop  to  think  in  what  a limited  territory  of  the  United  States  rice 
can  be  produced,  we  must  at  once  recognize  the  intrinsic  value  of  these 
lands  that  produce  it.  Some  idea  of  the  growth  of  the  industry  may 
be  learned  when  we  remember  that  in  1884  in  Southwest  Louisiana 
there  was  only  one  twine  binder  used.  In  1885,  5;  1886,  50;  1887,  200; 
1888,  400;  1889,  700;  1890,  1,000;  1891,  2,000;  1892,  3,000;  1893-94, 
3,400  binders  and  10  headers. 

The  Southern  Pacific  railroad  which  passes  through  this  rice  sec- 
tion in — 


1886  shipped 

1887  “ 

1888  “ 

1889  “ 

1890  “ 

1891  “ 

1892-93  “ 

In  1884  the  shipment  was 
“ 1885 
“ 1886 
“ 1889 
1890 
“ 1891 
“ 1892 


2.000. 000  pounds  of  rice 

4.000. 000  “ “ 

8.000. 000  “ “ 

16.000. 000  “ “ 

60.000. 000  “ “ 

180.000. 000  “ “ 

300.000. 000  “ “ 

50  cars 

150  “ 

500  “ 

1000  “ 

2000  “ 

5000  “ 

10000  ‘ 


AN  ACADIA  PARISH  FIELD  OF  SUGAR  CANE. 


RECIPES  FOR  COOKING  RICE  IN  MANY  DIFFERENT  WAYS 


HOW  TO  BOIL  RICE. 

Pick  your  rice  clean  and  wash  it  in  two  cold  waters,  not  draining  off 
the  last  water  until  you  are  ready  to  put  the  rice  on  the  fire.  Prepare  a 
sauce-pan  with  water  and  a little  salt.  When  it  boils  sprinkle  in  the  rice 
gradually  so  as  to  not  stop  the  boiling;  boil  hard  for  twenty  minutes, keep- 
ing the  pot  covered.  Then  take  it  off  from  the  fire  and  pour  off  the 
water,  after  which  set  the  pot  on  the  back  of  the  stove  with  the  lid  off  to 
allow  the  rice  to  di*y  and  the  grains  to  separate. 

GUMBO  SOUP. 

Cut  up  a spring  chicken  in  small  pieces,  also  a small  slice  of  ham,  put 
into  a pot  with  a heaping  spoonful  of  lard;  wait  until  the  lard  is  hot 
enough  to  fry  these.  When  fried  add  okra  cut  into  small  pieces,  add  one 
or  two  large  tomatoes,  and  a spoonful  of  flour.  Now  cover  the  whole 
with  water  and  let  it  simmer  over  a slow  fire.  If  crabs  or  shrimps  are- 
obtainable  add  them  and  season  the  whole  highly.  Salt  to  the  taste. 
Should  be  eaten  with  rice,  and  served  in  soup-plates. 

JAMBALAYA,  A SPANISH  CREOLE  DISH. 

Wash  one  pound  of  rice  and  soak  it  for  an  hour,  cut  up  one  pound 
sausage  and  one  pound  ham;  a small  piece  of  red  pepper,  two  onions, 
two  large  tomatoes,  and  a sprig  of  parsley.  Fry  these  in  a heap- 
ing spoonful  of  lard,  and  then  add  about  a pint  of  boiling  water.  Stir- 
in  the  rice  slowly,  cover  the  pot  and  set  where  it  can  cook  slowly.  Salt 
to  taste  and  serve  while  hot.  Jambalaya  is  nice  made  with  oysters,, 
shrimp,  or  chicken  substituted  for  sausage. 

JAMBALAYA  AU  CONGRI. 

Boil  one  pound  red  kindey  beans  well  done,  add  parsley  and  onions,, 
black  pepper  and  salt;  when  done  add  enough  hot  water  to  cover  three 
cups  of  rice;  cook  until  it  comes  to  a boil,  then  put  on  a slow  fire  twenty 


34 


Recipes  for  Cooking  Rice 


minutes,  covering  the  pot  but  leave  small  opening  for  the  steam  to  escape. 
Serve  hot  with  fresh  butter,  or  with  daub  and  sauce. 

RICH  WAFFLES. 

Stir  into  two  pints  of  well  boiled  or  soft  rice  one  large  spoonful  of 
butter  and  a pinch  of  salt;  when  cool  add  two  eggs  well  beaten,  one  pint 
of  milk,  one  pint  sifted  flour,  one  teaspoonful  of  yeast;  let  it  stand  an 
hour  or  two,  and  then  bake  in  a waffle  iron.  » 

FRIED  RICE. 

Boil  sufficient  rice  soft  and  let  it  stand  until  cold;  then  cut  into  slices 
of  proper  thickness  and  fry  to  a nice  brown,  turning  it  carefully  so  as  not 
to  break  the  slices.  This  is  an  excellent  breakfast  dish. 

RICE  FRITTERS. 

Cook  one  pound  rice  soft.  When  cool  add  six  eggs,  half  pound  flour, 
two  teaspoonfuls  yeast  powder,  sugar  to  taste,  and  water  enough  to  make 
a thick  batter.  Cook  by  dropping  a spoonful  at  a time  in  boiling  lard. 

RICE  PUDDING. 

Four  tablespoonfuls  of  soft  boiled  rice,  one-fourth  pound  of  butter, 
one  quart  of  milk  and  eight  eggs;  scald  the  milk,  add  a few  sticks  of  cin- 
namon, and  while  warm  stir  into  it  the  rice,  butter  and  eggs,  which 
must  be  first  beaten;  sweeten  to  taste,  and  bake  in  a dish. 

RICE  CROQUETTES. 

Take  a teaspoonful  of  cold  soft  boiled  rice,  a teaspoonful  of  sugar, 
melted  butter,  and  add  half leaspoonful  salt,  one  beaten  egg,  and  sufficient 
milk  to  bring  all  to  the  consistency  of  a firm  paste.  After  thoroughly 
beating  and  mixing,  shape  into  oval  balls  and  dip  in  beaten  egg;  follow 
by  dipping  into  flour.  Fry  in  hot  lard,  turning  with  care,  and  when  done 
to  a nice  brown  put  into  a heated  cullender. 

GUMBO  “FILLEE” — A FAVORITE  CREOLE  DISH. 

Stir  together  in  a pot  until  well  browned,  one  tablespoonful  lard, 
and  one  tablespoonful  flour,  then  add  one  spring  chicken  and  one  onion 
cut  into  small  pieces;  let  simmer  for  a few  moments  then  add  water  enough 
to  half  fill  pot,  let  boil  until  chicken  is  thoroughly  cooked,  season  very 
highly.  Just  before  serving  stir  in  one  tabespoonful  of  “fillee.”  Serve  in 
-soup  plates  with  hot  boiled  rice. 


IRRIGATION  PLANT  OF  W.  W.  DUSON,  TWO  MILES  FROM  CROWLEY,  CAPACITY  900,000  GALLONS  PER  HOUR,  LIFT  23  FEET 


SUGAR  IN  ACADIA  PARISH 


^k\ IT O INDUSTRY  in  America  possesses  the  fascination  for  those  en- 
^ gaged  in  it  that  sugar  growing  does.  The  industry  is  as  old  as  the 
State  itself,  and  is  one  of  the  greatest  in  wealth  production 

of  all  agricultural  pursuits,  and  although  it  has  recently  been  deprived 

% 

*of  the  heavy  subsidy  and  bounty  paid  by  the  government,  sugar  raising 
is  still  very  profitable.  The  Louisiana  sugar  planter  differs  in  no  way 
from  the  balance  of  humanity — all  alike  are  willing  to  take  all  they  can 
get  and  clamor  for  more — but  just  why  the  Louisiana  sugar  planter 
should  receive  from  $40  to  $60  per  acre  bounty  on  every  acre  of  sugar 
cane  raised  when  the  industry  within  itself  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
in  the  country,  is  hard  to  see.  Especially  is  this  so  while  the  Dakota 
farmer  raises  wheat  for  from  40  to  60  cents  per  bushel  and  is  satisfied 
with  an  average  crop  of  15  bushels  to  the  acre.  We  are  not  upholding 
the  action  of  the  government  in  deliberately  and  wilfully  violating  its 
civil  contracts  and  ignoring  its  pledges  to  the  planters  of  Louisiana,  but 
.at  the  same  time  we  see  no  reason  why  sugar  raisers  should  clothe  them- 
selves in  “sack  cloth  and  ashes”  because  the  government  refuses  to  pay 
the  expense  of  raising  their  crop  and  give  them  the  gross  proceeds. 
Under  the  old  regime  sugar  raising  was  indeed  a bonanza,  and  while  from 
now  on  the  industry  may  still  be  counted  as  the  fastest  money  making 
agricultural  pursuit  known,  still  the  whole  system  in  the  near  future  will 
undergo  a decided  change.  The  strong  tendency  toward  a “ sweetened 
aristocracy'1''  will  be  checked,  and  sugar  planters  will  have  to  live  like 
other  mortals  and  accept  the  legitimate  returns  and  results  of  their 
labors.  The  days  of  the  old  * collossal  sugar  plantations  are  limited  and 
numbered  and  the  time  is  near  at  hand  when  the  plantations  will  be  cut 
.up  into  smaller  farms  and  sugar  raising  will  be  diversified  with  rice  rais- 


Sugar  in  Acadia  Parish 


37 


ing,  cotton,  corn  and  stock.  It  has  only  been  three  or  four  years  since 
it  was  known  that  the  prairie  lands  of  the  southwest  part  of  the  State  were 
suitable  for  cane  culture,  but  during  this  time  it  has  been  demonstrated 
that  these  lands  are  among  the  most  valuable  of  any  in  the  State  for  this 
purpose,  as  the  cane  raised  on  these  prairie  lands  with  their  clay  subsoil 
possesses  a much  larger  per  centage  of  saccharine  substance  than  the 
cane  from  the  regular  sugar  districts  of  the  State. 

Sugar  cane,  unlike  most  farm  crops,  is  not  raised  from  the  seed,  being 
propogated  from  the  cane  itself.  The  ground  is  first  plowed  up  in  ridges 
and  then  a small  furrow  opened  up  down  the  center  of  each  row.  The 
cane  is  then  laid  in  lengthwise  the  entire  length  of  the  row  and  covered 
up.  About  every  six  inches  on  the  stock  there  is  a joint,  and  from  each  of 
these  joints  comes  a bud  or  sprout  which  forms  the  new  crop.  Sugar 
cane  only  has  to  be  planted  every  three  years,  the  second  and  third 
year  growing  from  the  stubble.  The  crop  produces  from  thirty-five  to  forty 
tons  to  the  acre.  Sugar  making  has  been  improved  upon  until  it  has  been 
reduced  to  a science,  and  a ton  of  cane  should  produce  two  hundred 
pounds  of  sugar.  Placing  the  average  yield  at  twenty  tons  would  give  the 
planter  4,000  pounds  of  sugar,  which  sold  at  four  and  a half  cents  per 
pound  would  yield  him  $180.00  gross  per  acre  (and  still  the  planter 
clamors  for  the  bounty.)  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  is  not 
all  profit,  as  it  probably  costs  more  to  raise  a crop  of  cane  than  the  same 
number  of  acres  of  any  other  crop,  but  the  balance  on  the  ledger  is  uni- 
versally in  favor  of  the  grower,  and  to  such  an  extent  that  it  would  seem 
incredible  to  the  agriculturists  of  the  Northern  states.  The  expense 
of  raising  a crop  of  sugar  cane  may  be  reckoned  as  follows: 


Seed  cane,  per  acre $10.00 

Preparation  of  land 2.00 

Planting,  per  acre 2.50 

Cultivating,  per  acre 5.00 

Fertilizer,  per  acre 2.00 

Harvesting,  per  acre 8.00 


$29.50 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  cane  has  to  be  planted  only  once 
in  three  years,  so  that  the  average  cost  would  be  consiberably  lessened. 
Now  the  difference  in  cost  and  the  gross  proceeds  goes  to  the  sugar 
manufacturers  and  the  planter,  both  of  whom  receive  the  highest  possible 


CLING  STONE  PEACH  TWO  YEARS  FROM  CUTTING  BY  J.  S.  JOHNSON 


Sugar  in  Acadia  Parish 


39 


reward  for  their  labors.  There  are  thousands  of  acres  of  these  valuable 
sugar  lands  in  Acadia  parish  today  that  may  be  had  at  merely  nominal 
prices,  ready  for  the  plow  of  the  industrious  immigrant,  every  acre  of 
which  in  the  near  future  will  be  under  cultivation. 

What  these  prairie  lands  of  Acadia  parish  need  today  is  men  who 
understand  diversified  farming.  The  tendency  of  the  Southern  agri- 
culturist has  too  long  been  toward  specialties.  One  section  runs  all  to 
rice,  another  entirely  to  cotton  and  another  entirely  to  sugar.  Every  farm 
in  Acadia  parish  should  have  its  rice  field,  its  cotton  patch,  its  corn  and 
cane  fields,  its  truck  gardens  and  its  orchards,  and  its  vineyards. 
Diversified  products  are  the  salvation  and  only  solid  foundation  on 
which  any  agricultural  country  can  permanently  build.  How  much 
better  to  raise  a class  of  crops  that  are  always  in  demand  than  to  con- 
tinue to  raise  those  crops  of  which  there  is  already  an  over-production 
of.  No  over-production  of  sugar,  no  over-production  of  rice,  as  the 
United  States  will  never  raise  what  it  will  consume.  No  over-pro- 
duction of  corn  or  hogs  in  Louisiana,  as  we  are  furnishing  today  one  of 
the  best  markets  in  the  country  for  these  products;  no  over-production 
of  hemp,  jute-and  ramie.  No  over-production  of  horses  and  mules  in 
Louisiana,  as  we  are  compelled  to  go  to  the  North  to  buy  them.  But 
do  not  make  the  mistake  of  thinking  for  a moment  that  the  Northern 
States,  where  stock  has  to  be  housed  and  fed  for  six  months  through  a 
long  winter,  can  raise  and  ship  stock  as  cheap  as  we  can  raise 
it,  for  it  can  be  raised  in  Acadia  cheaper  than  the  cheapest. 


A THREE-YEAR-OLD  LECONTE  PEAR  TREE  IN  THE  ORCHARD  OF  W.  W.  DUSON 


FRUIT  RAISING  IN  ACADIA 


of  most  pf  the  different  varieties  of  fruit  has  been  known  since 
the  first  settlement  of  the  country.  Not  only  can  fruit  be  suc- 
cessfully grown,  but  it  is  the  natural  home  of  many  of  the  most  profit- 
able varieties,  as  is  well  established  by  the  abundance  of  evidence  to 
be  found  in  the  way  of  wild  fruit  growing  all  over  the  parish,  and  the  ease 
with  which  all  varieties  are  cultivated.  We  have  a soil  possessing  all  the 
necessary  constituents,  and  a climate  particularly  adapted  to  the  success 
of  the  industry.  And  with  this  section  over  a thousand  miles  nearer  the 
great  fruit  distributing  centers  than  California  is,  still  but  little  progress 
has  been  made  as  yet  toward  developing  the  industry,  but  that  a wide  and 
profitable  field  is  here  offered,  none  can  doubt.  Fruit  raising,  when  con- 
ducted intelligently,  is  one  of  the  most  pleasant,  as  well  as  profitable  oc- 
cupations in  which  one  can  engage,  and  offers  many  advantages  over 
any  other  line  of  agricultural  pursuits.  When  the  disadvantages  under 
which  fruit  raisers  labor  in  other  sections  are  considered,  it  seems  sur- 
prising that  the  industry  has  received  so  little  attention  at  the  hands  of 
those  who  are  naturally  attracted  toward  it.  One  of  the  ad- 
vantages the  industry  offers  in  Southwest  Louisiana  is  the  reason- 
able certainty  of  making  a crop.  Of  course  there  come  years  in  the 
history  of  any  section  when  the  fruit  crop  is  light,  but  Southwest  Louisi- 
ana has  fewer  of  these  years  than  any  other  section  known.  While  the 
successful  pursuit  of  the  industry  requires  much  care  and  attention  and 
ought  to  be  protected  by  a thorough  knowledge  of  the  business  and  its 
requirements  by  those  engaged  in  it,  still  the  work  is  light  and  pleasant, 
and  a large  part  of  it  may  be  performed  by  the  women  and  children.  It 
requires  but  a small  outlay  in  cash  and  needs  but  little  land  to  produce 
large  results. 

The  returns  are  large  and  reasonably  sure.  The  Southern  States  are 


KELSEY  JAPAN  PLUMS  RAISED  BY  M.  ROMAINE,  FORMERLY  OF  WEST  LIBERTY,  IA. 


Fruit  Raising  In  Acadia 


43 


large  consumers  of  fruit  and  especially  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  and  it 
is  strange  indeed  that  train  load  after  train  load  of  fruit  should  be 
shipped  a distance  of  over  2,000  miles  from  California  past  our  very 
doors  to  New  Orleans,  while  Acadia  parish  has  thousands  of  acres  of 
equally  as  good  fruit  lands  that  can  be  bought  at  nominal  price  and 
which  do  not  require  irrigation.  Probably  the  king  of  all  fruits  in  South- 
west Louisiana  is  the  fig.  This  is  the  natural  home  .and  abiding  place 
of  this  most  delicious  of  all  fruits.  The  trees  are  hardy  and  thrifty,  and 
grow  in  every  nook  and  corner  wherever  planted;  they  are  easily  propo- 
gated  from  the  cutting,  and  after  coming  into  bearing  yield  an  abundant 
crop  every  year.  Other  fruits  may  fail  or  produce  only  partial  crops,  but 
the  fig  goes  steadily  on  from  year  to  year  bearing  a burden  of  sweet 
fruit  which  is  a wonder  to  be  seen  and  that  would  exhaust  the  hardiest  oak. 
So  much  has  always  been  required  and  expected  of  the  fig  tree  ^.nd  such 
an  unusual  sight  is  it  to  find  a tree  that  does  not  bear  fruit  that  in  olden 
times  it  - was  thought  worthy  of  scriptural  comment  and  by  divine 
authority  it  was  ordered  to  “be  cut  down.”  The  tree  is  very  symmetrical 
in  its  proportions,  has  large,  dark  green  foliage,  and  comes  into  bearing 
from  four  to  six  years  of  age  and  lives  to  be  fifty  to  seventy-five  and  often 
a hundred  years  old.  The  fig  tree  puts  forth  no  blossoms,  the  fruit  burst- 
ing forth  like  buds  from  the  limbs.  The  tree  requires  no  trimming  or 
fertilizing,  and  a fig  orchard  near  a canning  factory  or  other  market  would 
be  a fortune  for  your  children’s  children.  Trees  at  from  six  to  eight  years 
old  bear  from  500  to  1000  pounds  of  fruit  each.  Taking  an  average  of  100 
trees  to  the  acre  and  500  pounds  of  fruit  to  the  tree,  one  acre  would  pro- 
duce 50,000  pounds  of  fruit,  at  four  cents  per  pound,  the  usual  price  paid 
at  canning  factories,  yields  the  producer  $2,000.00  per  acre.  Cut  the 
price  in  two  and  call  it  two  cents  a pound  and  you  have  $1,000.00  per 
acre.  There  are  several  varieties  of  this  valuable  fruit  grown  here’ 
among  the  most  popular  being  the  “Celeste,”  which  is  a native  of 
Louisiana.  It  is  the  most  prolific,  is  as  sweet  as  honey,  requiring  but 
little  sugar  for  preserving  or  canning.’  No  daintier,  more  refreshing 
and  more  nourishing  fruit  is  known  to  man  than  fresh  ripe  figs,  and 
no  industry  offers  greater  or  more  flattering  inducements  than  their 
culture  in  Acadia  parish. 

Next  to  figs  there  are  probably  greater  possibilities  offered  in  pear 
culture  than  any  other  fruit.  Pear  trees  are  also  growp  from  the  cutting 
and  often  bear  at  three  years  old,  the  Leconte,  Keifer,  and  the  Bartlett 


. 


LIMB  OF  THREE-YEAR-OLD  PEACH  TREE  RAISED  BY  T.  J.  THAYER,  FOR- 
MERLY OF  SPRING  VALLEY,  MINN. 


Fruit  Raising  in  Acadia 


45 


are  among  the  most  popular  varieties.  A pear  orchard  when  laden  with 
blossoms  or  with  fruit  is  only  excelled  in  beauty  by  an  orange  grove. 

Probably  there  has  been  more  development  and  greater  progress- 
made  in  this  branch  of  the  industry  than  in  any  other,  owing  to  the 
thriftiness  of  the  trees  and  the  rapid  growth  they  make — often  attaining 
a height  of  forty  feet  at  three  years  old.  The  Bartlett  pear  needs  no 
introduction  to  fruit  eaters.  Although  the  fruit  is  not  as  large  as  some  of 
the  other  varieties  here  in  Southwest  Louisiana,  it  attains  the  highest 
state  of  perfection,  the  grain  of  the  fruit  being  remarkably  fine  and 
possessing  an  excellent  flavor  that  is  found  only  in  few  localities.  In 
fact  this  is  a characteristic  of  all  Louisiana  fruits,  being  of  a richer 
flavor  and  possessing  that  exquisite  delicacy  that  renders  them  the 
choicest  of  any  in  America.  The  Bartlett  blossoms  early  and  ripens 
during  the  early  days  of  July. 

The  Leconte  pear  is  a larger  variety  than  the  Bartlett.  The  fruit 
ripens  more  slowly  and  is  a better  keeper  than  the  Bartlett.  This  pear 
has  the  peculiarity  of  growing  in  clusters,  often  as  many  as  from  twelve 
to  twenty  growing  in  the  space  of  as  many  inches  on  the  limb  and  form- 
ing a solid  bunch  as  large  as  a water  pail.  The  Leconte  pear  trees  are 
probably  more  prolific  than  any  other  variety  and  consequently  are  more 
valuable  as  a money  making  crop.  This  fruit  ripens  during  the  month  of 
August.  If  there  is  one  thing  more  than  another  that  will  fill  the  heart 
of  the  fruit  grower  with  enthusiasm  it  is  to  see  an  orchard  of  Leconte 
pear  trees  with  the  limbs  bending  to  the  ground  or  substantially  propped 
up,  laden  to  its  fullest  capacity  with  ripe  fruit.  The  Keifer  pear  is  also 
another  valuable  pear  and  possesses  some  qualities  that  no  other  pear 
possesses,  that  renders  it  at  once  in  many  respects  the  most  valuable  of 
any.  The  trees  grow  to  an  enormous  size,  are  very  hardy  and  thrifty,  and 
yield  an  enormous  amount  of  fruit,  that  for  size  and  keeping  quality  is 
not  equaled  by  any  other  variety.  This  fruit  ripens  during  the  month 
of  September  and  often  hangs  on  the  trees  until  late  in  October;  and 
while  the  fruit  is  not  as  fine  grain  or  delicate  in  flavor  as  the  Bartlett,  it 
more  than  makes  up  in  keeping  qualities.  If  properly  taken  care  of  it 
may  be  kept  until  mid-winter  or  spring,  thus  giving  the  grower  the  op- 
portunity of  shipping  to  any  of  the  markets  of  the  country.  The  fruit 
grows  to  the  largest  size  of  any  known,  many  pears  being  six  inches  in 
diameter,  and  weighing  from  sixteen  to  twenty-four  ounces.  During  the 


Fruit  Raising  in  Acadia 


47 


last  year  or  two,  and  especially  this  season,  has  been  demonstrated  that 
plums  and  persimmons  of  the  Japanese  variety  are  a decided  success  in 
this  section.  Even  California  fruit  raisers  are  willing  to  admit  that 
Acadia  parish  rivals  their  own  state  in  the  production  of  these  fruits. 
Around  the  homes  of  many  people  in  Crowley  this  season  (1895)  may 
be  seen  the  evidence  that  would  convince  the  most  skeptical  that  these 
fruits  are  indigenous  to  this  soil  and  climate. 

Nearly  every  variety  of  the  Japan  plum  grows  and  matures  to  per- 
fection. Many  trees  may  be  seen  here  today  three  years  old, not  over  seven 
or  eight  feet  high,  bearing  from  1,000  to  3,000  plums,  varying  in  size  from 
a large  size  walnut  to  the  size  of  a hen-egg.  Some  of  these  fruits  are  a 
bright  yellow,  some  a deep  purple,  some  real  blue  and  others  brown,  all 
alike  thin  skin  and  richly  flavored,  and  containing  pits  smaller  than  the 
little  red  or  blue  plum  of  the  Eastern  states.  The  way  these  trees  have 
borne  this  season  is  simply  marvelous  and  past  believing  unless  seen, 
each  little  limb  being  literally  covered  with  fruit.  So  closely  are  the  plums . 
set  that  they  form  one  solid  mass  or  roll  the  entire  length  of  the  limb. 
These  large  Japan  plums  always  find  a ready  sale  in  all  of  the  markets  of 
the  country  and  bring  the  highest  possible  prices. 

Grape  raising  is  another  branch  of  the  fruit  industry  from  which 
large  sums  may  be  realized.  Up  to  the  present  time  but  one  man  here, 
Mr.  J.  S.  Johnson,  and  one  man  in  Mermentau,  in  the  western  part  of  the 
parish,  Victoran  Maignaud,  have  given  grapes  any  attention,  and  they 
only  on  a small  scale.  Mr.  Maignaud  raised  the  scuppernong  very  suc- 
cessfully and  although  possessing  no  knowledge  of  the  requirements 
necessary  for  their  successful  cultivation  yet  many  of  his  bunches  weigh 
from  five  to  eight  pounds.  Mr.  Johnson  makes  an  excellent  showing 
with  the  Concord  grape  (see  photograph.)  Mr.  Johnson  informs  us  he 
has  no  difficulty  whatever  in  producing  them  in  abundance.  He  also  has 
a number  of  the  choicest  peach,  pear,  and  plum  trees  to  be  found  in 
the  parish,  all  of  which  bear  abundantly. 

It  has  long  been  a well-known  fact  that  Louisiana  produces  the 
choicest  peaches  grown  in  America.  Neither  Maryland,  Michigan  or  Cali- 
fornia peaches  can  compare  with  the  Louisiana  product.  The  trouble  with 
peach  growing,  as  well  as  other  fruit,  is  that  there  is  too  much  hap- 
hazzard  work  about  it.  No  care  or  attention  is  taken  to  select  such  vari- 
eties as  are  most  suitable  for  profit,  and  after  planting  the  trees  must  look 


APPLES  FROM  THE  ORCHARD  OF  MR.  MIRES,  WEIGHT  FROM  12  TO  16  OZ  S. 


Fruit  Raising  in  Acadia 


49 


out  for  themselves.  What  Southwest  Louisiana  needs  and  wants  are  fruit- 
growers who  understand  the  business  and  its  requirements,  and  who  will 
take  a pride  in  developing  the  industry.  Such  a man  may  be  found  in  the 
person  of  T.  Jay  Lacy,  of  Washington,  La.,  twenty-five  miles  north  of  this 
place.  Mr.  Lacy  has  had  thirty  years  experience  in  fruit  growing  and  is 
familiar  with  every  branch  of  the  business,  and  he  unhesitatingly  recom- 
mends this  section  as  a fruit  country.  In  his  orchards  may  be  seen  over  a 
dozen  varieties  of  oranges,  peaches,  pears,  grapes,  plums,  apricots, 
quinces,  nectarines,  pomgranites,  cherries,  guavas,  blackberries,  straw- 
berries, and  in  fact  all  of  the  different  kinds  of  the  different  varieties  men- 
tioned, as  well  as  many  others,  and  he  makes  a success  of  everything  he 
touches,  simply  because  he  understands  the  business  he  is  engaged  in. 
He  takes  a pride  in  his  fruit  orchards  and  they  are  fast  making  him 
independent  and  rich.  What  this  man  has  accomplished,  you  can  accom- 
plish. The  soil  is  here  in  Acadia  parish,  the  climate  is  here;  these  lands 
are  cheap  and  are  waiting  for  experienced  hands  to  take  hold  of  them 
and  make  them  blossom  as  a garden.  What  fields  of  fruit;  what  orchards 
of  peaches,  pears,  figs  and  plums;  what  vineyards  of  grapes;  what 
gardens  of  berries  Acadia  parish  would  produce  if  only  the  fruit  grower 
was  here!  Men  with  small  means  and  some  experience  and  a large  stock 
of  energy  is  what  Acadia  wliats  today  to  develop  her  fruit  land  and 
they  will  surely  come;  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  valuable- 

4 

ness  of  Acadia  lands  as  fruit  producers  will  be  fully  demonstarted;  and 
fortunate  indeed  will  be  those  who  take  the  lead  in  this  industry,  and 
rich  will  be  their  reward.  If  the  reader  of  these  pages  has  a taste  for  fruit 
raising  and  whishes  to  find  a place  where  fruit  grows  naturally  and 
abundantly,  if  he  wishes  to  find  a place  where  he  has  no  such  competi- 
tion as  in  Florida,  California  or  other  fruit  countries,  where  the  soil  and 
the  climate  are  the  most  favorable;  if  he  wishes  to  get  in  on  the  ground 
floor  and  reap  a rich  harvest  he  should  investigate  the  rich  fruit  lands  of 
Acadia  parish  at  once,  or  else  he  will  see  others  with  more  nerve  embrace 
the  opportunity,  while  he  will  go  about  the  balance  of  his  days  regretting 
the  opportunity  he  missed  and  the  mistake  he  made  that  in  1895  or  1896 
he  did  not  locate  in  Acadia  parish  and  engage  in  fruit  culture.  It  will 
simply  be  crying  over  “spilt  milk ,”  regretting  lost  opportunities  for  which 
the  live  wide-awake  progressive  man  in  these  push-ahead,  and  clamor- 
far-a-place-in-the-front-rank  time  has  very  little  use  or  sympathy  for. 


RAISED  BY  J.  S.  JOHNSON— FREE  STONE  PEACH  AT  THREE  YEARS  OLD 


TRUCK  RAISING 


ACADIA  parish  ought  to  be  and  will  be  the  truck  gardener’s  para- 
dise, from  its  location  midway  between  the  cities  of  New  Orleans 
and  Houston  two  of  the  most  prosperous  cities  of  the  South,  fron^ 
the  nature  of  its  soil  which  is  quick  in  its  action  and  generous  in  its  pro- 
ductions, possessing  those  qualities  so  requisite  to  the  rapid  growth  and 
maturity  of  vegetables,  with  a semi-tropical  climate,  that  renders 
two  crops  a year  not  only  a possibility  but  a certainty  if  the  seed  is  planted* 
with  an  abundance  of  moisture  without  irrigation.  With  its  abundance 
of  sunshine  so  necessary  for  the  rapid  growth  of  vegetation  and  the 
ripening  of  fruits,  it  offers  all  that  could  be  asked  by  the  most  exacting . 

There  is  hardly  a garden  vegetable  known  but  what  makes  two  crops 
a year.  Irish  potatoes  are  planted  in  February  and  dug  in  May  and  June, 
and  the  same  planted  again  in  July  and  August  and  dug  in  December  o r 
January.  The  yield  is  large  and  the  tubers  exceptionally  fine, being  of  good 
size,  dry  and  mealy.  Irish  potatoes  always  bring  a good  price  in  New 
Orleans  and  are  seldom  worth  less  than  $1.00  per  bushel  in  the  local 
markets  throughout  the  State.  Sweet  potatoes  are  another  excellent 
crop.  Small  beds  of  these  are  planted  early  and  when  the  vines  cover  the 
ground  (in  May  or  June)  they  are  cut  and  planted  in  larger  fields.  They 
yield  often  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  barrels  of  three 
bushels  each  per  acre.  There  are  many  varieties  of  sweet  potatoes,  the 
Louisiana  yam  being  the  choicest  and  most  sought  after  variety.  This 
variety  possesses  a large  amount  of  saccharine  substance  and  when  prop- 
erly baked  the  skin  usually  cracks  open  and  the  potato  is  found  to  bq 
covered  with  syrup.  The  Louisiana  yams  are  seldom  found  in  the 

markets  of  the  northern  states.  The.  variety  known  as  The  Queen  ojf 

• * . ..  '4  •...  y •■■...  • ” 

the  South  is  probably  the  most  prolific  of  any  of  the  varieties  grown 
here.  They  are  of  very  large  size  and  yield  two,  three  and  four  hundred 
bushels  to  the  acre.  Sweet  potatoes  make  an  excellent  food  for  stock, 


KEIFER  PEARS  GROWING  ON  PROPERTY  OF  GEO.  E.  SEARS  & SON 


Truck  Raising 


53 


horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  being  very  fond  of  them.  They  possess 
large  fattening  qualities  on  account  of  the  sugar  they  contain. 

Cabbage,  turnips,  beets,  parsnips,  carrots,  tomatoes,  onions,  lettuce, 
beans,  peas,  okra,  and  in  fact  every  variety  of  vegetable  that  possesses  a 
marketable  value  or  that  can  be  consumed  on  the  table  of  the  farmer 
grows  to  perfection  here  and  may  be  had  any  and  every  month  in  the  year 
with  but  little  care  and  attention.  One  great  advantage  that  the  truck 
gardener  has  here  over  gardeners  of  other  sections,  is  that  he  is  enabled 
to  supply  the  markets  with  vegetables  early  and  late  in  the  season.  In  fact 
he  is  never  idle  and  the  amount  of  vegetables  he  can  raise  and  sell  is 
limited  not  to  the  season  or  the  markets,  but  by  the  limit  of  his  energy. 


i 


JAPAN  PLUMS  RAISED  BY  M.  ROMAINE,  FORMERLY  OF  WEST  LIBERTY,  IOWA 


DAIRYING  IN  ACADIA  PARISH 


live,  wide-awake  dairyman  in  Acadia  parish  are  simply  wonder- 
ful. We  publish  below  in  full  a letter  to  the  Southern  States 
Magazine,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  from  W.  B.  Mercier,  of  the  United 
States  Experimental  Station  at  Baton  Rouge,  La.  Mr.  Mercier  is  a 
man  of  large  experience,  and  is  in  a position  to  speak  authoritatively 
on  the  subject.  He  says: 

“The  fact  that  almost  the  entire  population  of  Denmark  and  some 
other  European  countries  are  engaged  in  the  dairying  business  proves 
that  it  must  be  a very  profitable  industry.  The  fact  that  many  sections 
of  our  United  States,  and  parts  of  Canada,  are  devoting  nearly  all  their 
attention  to  it,  furnishes  additional  evidence  that  other  branches  of 
agriculture  must  be  less  profitable  to  the  farmer. 

“Now  if  such  has  been  found  the  case  with  these  countries  where 
winters  are  long  and  severe,  feed  and  pasturage  scarce  and  dear,  is  it 
not  time  for  some  of  our  people  to  utilize  the  unlimited  resources  nature 
has  willed  to  them  for  carrying  on  the  greatest  dairy  business  of  any 
country  on  earth.  When  we  sum  up  the  resources  of  these  countries  for 
pursuing  this  industry,  we  find  them  almost  incomparable,  so  many  are 
the  advantages  the  South  can  claim  over  any  of  them.  Our  European 
and  Northern  friends  are  compelled  to  house  and  feed  their  animals  con- 
tinuously for  several  months  of  the  year,  while  we  never  have  to  keep  a 
cow  in  a stable  during  the  day,  and  very  frequently  we  do  not  need 
shelter  more  than  a week  during  the  entire  winter. 

“From  April  to  October  feeding  is  practically  unknown  with  us,  the 
native  grasses  giving  such  luxuriant  pastures  as  to  render  extra  feeding, 
entirely  useless.  The  milk  and  butter  obtained  from  cows  running  on 
these  pastures  are  equal  if  not  superior  to  any  ever  produced  by  the  most 
highly  fed  animals  of  any  other  country.  There  is  never  a time  that 


56 


Dairying  in  Acadia  Parish 


stock  cannot  live  here  throughout  the  winter  if  given  full  access  to  the 
fields  and  woodlands  without  ever  seeing  any  other  food.  While  I do 
not  believe  in  neglecting  the  stock  during  the  mild  winters  any  more  than 
in  the  severer  climates  further  north,  it  is  a fact  that  thousands  of 
heads  of  cattle  pass  our  severest  winters  without  the  least  protection  or 
food  more  than  they  get  for  themselves. 

“We  have  only  to  plow  and  level  our  lands  to  get  a spontaneous 
growth  of  the  most  nutritious  and  valuable  grasses  for  either  hay  or  pastur- 
ing that  can  be  grown  in  any  country.  In  a seasonable  year  we  often  get 
from  two  to  four  cuttings  of  hay,  which  yield  anywhere  from  two  to  five  tons 
of  cured  hay  per  acre,  which  has  been  proven  to  equal  in  value  as  a feed 
stuff,  timothy,  and  unless  the  latter  is  an  extra  quality,  it  will  be  found 
superior  to  it.  With  care  any  dairyman  may  have  good  green  pasturage 
for  his  cows  twelve  months  out  of  the  year.  There  is  absolutely  no  limit 
to  food  that  can  be  grown  if  proper  pains  are  taken  in  planting,  prepar- 
ing and  cultivation.  Sorghum  and  all  other  forage  plants  grow  to  per- 
fection, and  the  root  crops  can  be  grown  more  abundantly  and  easily 
than  anywhere  else.  Grains  of  all  kinds  can  be  successfully  and  profit- 
ably grown.  Cotton  seed  and  its  product  can  be  had  at  the  very  lowest 
figures,  and  nothing  gives  a better,  cheaper  or  more  universally  popular 
food  for  the  dairy  cow  when  intelligently  combined  with  other  food  to 
form  a complete  dairy  ration. 

“That  we  have  good  local  markets  for  the  dairy  products  can  be 
ascertained  by  looking  over  grocers’  books  in  any  of  our  towns.  They  will 
show  us  that  tons  upon  tons  of  butter  and  cheese,  and  even  milk  are 
shipped  from  distant  points  to  be  retailed  to  us  at  high  prices.  Nearly 
every  town  is  capable  of  supporting  a large  and  well  managed  dairy,  and 
would  gladly  do  so  if  it  could  only  be  assured  that  nothing  was  to  be  sold 
except  nice  and  fresh  products  of  the  choicest  quality.  The  prices 
actually  paid  in  the  southern  markets  for  choice  butter  and  cheese  is 
simply  astonishing.  It  does  not  look  reasonable  that  a people  possessing 
lands  so  admirably  adapted  to  the  production  of  these  articles  of  food, 
would  have  so  long  neglected  the  opportunities  for  developing  to  the 
highest  state  of  perfection  this  important  and  profitable  business.  The 
past  decade  has  marked  great  progress  along  this  line  in  some  places, 
but  the  next  ten  years  will  work  a revolution  in  the  dairy  business  through- 
out the  Southern  states.  For  by  that  time  the  shrewd  business-like 


Dairying  in  Acadia  Parish 


57 


northwestern  Yankee  will  have  seen  the  vast  possibilities  in  this  indus- 
try, with  our  genial  climate  and  fertile  soils,  and,  as  about  everything 
else,  he  will  not  be  slow  in  using  these  valuable  resources  of  nature  to  add 
to  his  material  welfare.  It  is  upon  him,  with  his  push  and  energy,  that 
we  shall  have  to  rely  in  upsetting  the  old  worn  out  ideas  of  farming,  and 
supplanting  them  with  his  new  and  more  progressive  method.  I hope 
that  many  who  are  now  struggling  against  so  many  disadvantages  in  the 
less  favored  sections  will  compare  the  possibilities  of  the  two  climates  and 
decide  to  come  and  cast  their  lot  with  us,  and  show  the  people  here  what 
can  be  done  with  our  soils.  All  such  as  will  come  are  assured  of  a hearty 
welcome  from  every  true  and  progressive  Southerner.” 


LECONTE  PEARS  RAISED  BY  J.  S.  JOHNSON 


STOCK  RAISING 


AS  a stock  country  Southwest  Louisiana  has  no  equal — in  fact  it 
used  to  be  considered  fit  only  for  this  purpose,  and  even  today  may 
be  heard  the  repinnings  of  some  of  the  old  cattle  kings  over  the 
downfall  of  their  past  glories.  Here  men  lived  and  reared  their  families 
never  knowing  what  it  was  to  do  a day’s  work  in  their  lives.  The  lands  were 
government  or  State  lands  or  belonged  to  non-residents.  They  counted 
their  cattle  by  the  hundreds  or  thousands  of  calves  they  branded  in  the 
fall,  some  of  them  never  knowing  within  a thousand  head  how  many  cat- 
tle they  owned.  These  prairies  were  covered  with  a rich  coat  of  native 
grass  from  three  to  six  feet  high.  There  was  plenty  of  fresh  water  in 
the  many  streams  and  gullies,  there  were  no  winters,  and  consequently 
no  shelter  to  be  provided  and  no  feed  supply  to  be  looked  after.  They 
raised  their  own  hogs  and  hominy,  their  own  rice  and  sugar,  and  paid 
little  or  no  taxes,  lived  in  ease  and  luxury  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  when 
they  saw  the  march  of  progress  and  immigration  sweeping  down  upon 
them  they  discouraged  it  in  every  way  possible.  These  vast  heards  of 
sleek,  fat  cattle  that  used  to  roam  unrestrained  and  unheeded  over  these 
luxuriant  prairies  have  long  since  passed  away,  but  the  same  natural 
conditions  remain  as  in  the  days  of  these  cattle  kings — the  same  fertility 
of  soil  is  here  to  produce  the  tame  grasses  in  abundance,  the  same  belts 
of  timber  for  shelter,  the  same  rivers,  the  same  mild  and  even  climate 
that  made  stock  raising  so  easy  and  profitable  in  the  past  are  here  to 
aid  you  with  your  new  and  improved  graded  stock,  and  while  the  lands 
are  not  exactly  free  to  you  many  desirable  tracts  and  locations  are  still 
to  be  had  suitable  for  stock  raising  at  nominal  prices.  You  will  have 
the  advantage  of  owning  your  own  range  and  being  able  to  control  your 
business — can  raise  better  stock,  have  better  markets,  enjoy  church  and 
school  facilities  and  exchange  ideas  with  your  neighbors  without  going 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  to  do  so.  Cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  hogs  do  ex- 


6o 


Stock  Raising 


ceedingly  well  here.  While  the  Creole  horses  and  cattle  of  Louisiana 
(the  native  stock)  that  have  degenerated  by  interbreeding  and  lack  of 
care  and  attention  are  fast  disappearing  their  places  are  being  taken  by 
the  Galloway,  Herefords,  Durham,  Holstein  and  Jerseys;  the  Chester 
Whites,  Burkshires  and  Poland  Chinas  are  fast  taking  the  place  of  the 
common  Louisiana  “rail  splitters”  or  “razor-back”  hogs.  Large  Per- 
cheron,  Clyde  and  other  all  purpose  horses  and  mules  are  occupying 
the  farms  and  pastures  where  once  roamed  the  small  Creole  ponies  over 
the  unbroken  range. 

The  intelligent  stock-raiser  need  look  for  no  field  of  easier  condi- 
tions or  a country  offering  more  or  better  inducements  in  his  line  than 
Acadia  parish  does  today,  and  we  know  of  no  line  of  business  in  which 
a man  could  embark  that  would  prove  a greater  boon  to  the  country  or 
a source  of  greater  profit  to  the  owner  than  an  improved  modern  stock 
farm  in  Acadia  parish. 


CORN  AND  OATS 


JnT^HEY  are  magic  words  indeed  to  the  farmer,  especially  if  he  is  from 
Kansas,  Nebraska,  Iowa  or  any  of  the  other  great  corn  producing 
states.  The  impression  has  always  existed  that  corn  did  not  make 
a good  crop  in  Louisiana.  If  this  be  the  case,  there  must  certainly  be  some 
.good  reason  for  it.  It  is  one  of  the  mistakes  you  have  been  making  if  you 
attribute  it  to  the  soil  or  to  the  climate.  There  are  only  four  conditions 
or  elements  necessary  for  the  production  of  corn  in  abundance.  First, 
fertile  soil;  second,  warmth;  third,  moisture,  and  fourth,  thorough  cul- 
tivation. If  any  of  these  conditions  or  elements  are  absent  we  may 
expect  failure.  Louisiana  has  the  soil  the  fertility  of  which  cannot  be 
questioned;  it  posesses  both  the  warmth  and  the  moisture  and  if  a failure 
is  chronicled,  in  nine  out  of  ten  instances  it  is  attributable  to  a lack  of 
eultivation.  The  average  Kansas  or  Iowa  farmer  has  long  since  learned 
that  it  requires  constant  and  thorough  cultivation  to  make  corn,  no  matter 
how  favorable  the  season  may  be  or  how  fertile  the  soil.  If  corn  is  not 
eultivated  and  the  ground  stirred  frequently  and  thoroughly  it  will  fail  in 
Iowa  or  Kansas  the  same  as  in  Louisiana.  On  the  other  hand,  give  us 
five  corn-raisers  from  the  state  of  Iowa  and  we  will  show  five  men  who 
will  make  a success  of  raising  corn  in  Louisiana,  and  they  will  make 
more  clear  money  by  fifty  per  cent  than  they  did  raising  corn  in  Iowa, 
because  lands  are  cheaper,  taxes  lighter,  clothing,  fuel  and  building 
material  cost  much  less  and  the  crop  sells  for  better  prices,  as  the 
competition  is  less  and  there  is  no  over-production.  Corn  can  be  more 
profitably  fed  to  hogs  and  other  stock  here  in  Acadia  parish  than  in 
Kansas,  Nebraska  or  Iowa.  Hogs,  cattle,  mutton  and  poultry  respond 
more  quickly  to  generous  feeding  than  in  any  of  the  northern  states  on 
account  of  the  long  cold  winter  which  requires  double  the  feeding  to 
maintain  and  keep  up  the  fattening  process  than  it  does  in  warmer 
elimates.  Pork  brings  a better  price  in  the  South  than  it  does  in  the  North 


62 


Corn  and  Oats 


because  there  is  less  of  it.  Acadia  parish  for  the  past  seven  or  eight  years 
has  paid  out  millions  of  dollars  for  feed  when  it  ought  to  have  corn  to 
sell,  but  so  much  time  and  attention  have  been  given  to  rice  culture  and 
such  have  been  the  profits  in  this  line  that  farmers  have  preferred  to 
plant  all  rice  and  buy  their  meat,  bread  and  horse  feed,  but  a marked 
change  has  been  noticed  in  this  respect  this  past  season,  and  there  is  a 
growing  tendency  toward  a diversity  of  crops.  More  oats,  corn,  potatoes, 
sugar-cane,  fruit,  milk,  etc.,  are  being  produced  than  ever  before  and 
the  science  of  cheap  living  demonstrates  that  the  farmers  of  Acadia  have 
taken  a long  step  in  the  right  direction,  for  there  is  no  section  of  the 
United  States  today  where  the  people  can  come  so  near  living  at  home 
independent  of  everybody  as  here  in  southwest  Louisiana.  Corn  pro- 
duces here,  properly  cultivated  from  thirty-five  to  seventy-five  bushels 
per  acre,  and  throughout  Acadia  parish  this  season  the  crop  has  been 
more  than  thribbled,  and  whereever  you  strike  a field  of  corn  cultivated 
by  Northern  men  the  yield  is  immense. 


TIMBER 


A DREARY,  desolate,  treeless  country  is  always  an  indication  of  un- 
favorable conditions.  It  indicates  a liability  and  tendency  toward 
droughty  conditions;  it  is  also  an  indication  that  a country  is  liable 
to  suffer  from  severe  storms,  cyclones  and  blizzards,  and  usually  it  is  in 
such  sections  that  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  and  the  greatest  distur- 
bances in  atmospheric  conditions  occur.  Aside  from  their  severe  winter 
climate  and  their  liability  to  crop  failure  the  greatest  drawbacks  that  most 
of  the  Western  states  have  to  contend  with  is  a lack  of  timber.  Man, 
with  all  of  his  energy  and  perseverance,  with  all  his  intellectual  faculties 
alert,  divising  new  methods  and  means  to  use  up  the  timbers  of  our 
country,  can  despoil  the  proudest  American  forest  in  a day  as  it  were. 
Then  set  him  to  work  undoing  the  work  he  has  done  and  what  can  he 
accomplish?  How  small  and  insignificant  does  his  work  appear.  We 
may  build  factories,  mills,  steamships,  towns  and  cities,  but  God  him- 
self must  build  the  forests  of  the  world. 

One  of  the  most  refreshing  sights  th’at  the  immigrant  sees  when  he 
comes  to  Southwest  Louisiana,  especially  if  he  comes  from  the  bleak 
prairies  of  the  Northwest,  is  the  magnificent  belts  of  timber  that  sur- 
round our  prairies.  These  timber  belts  give  to  the  entire  country  a 
homelike  aspect  that  at  once  makes  him  feel  that  he  has  traveled  far 
enough  and  would  like  to  cast  his  lot  here  under  the  shadows  of  some  of 
these  giant  oaks.  Every  few  miles  throughout  this  prairie  section  of 
Louisiana,  lazily  winding  its  way  to  the  Gulf  is  found  a river  or  bayou. 
Lying  on  either  side  of  these  streams  are  the  forests  of  Acadia.  What 
giant  oaks,  that  have  gathered  their  strength  from  the  growth  of  cen- 
turies; what  towering  pines,  with  their  bare  and  naked  trunks  devoid  of 
limbs  for  one  and  two  hundred  feet;  what  majestic  cypress,  with  their 
scanty  limbs  covered  with  their  green  or  brozned  foliage;  what  tall  and 
graceful  ash,  with  their  slender  arms  and  dark  green  leaves;  what  groves 


64 


Timber 


of  gum  and  hickory,  what  ridges  of  magnolia  and  holly,  what  thickets  of 
plums  and  crab-apples!  What  cozy  nooks  and  cool  retreats  they  afford! 

Where  ancient  oaks  and  gnarled  and  twisted  hickory  trees  grow 
side  by  side,  emblems  of  strength  and  power;  where  the  dull  grey 
Spanish  moss  waves  like  spectres  in  the  breeze;  where  muscadine,  wild 
honey-suckle  and  passion  vines  mingle  and  inter-mingle  with  bitter- 
sweet, wild  grapes  and  sweet  woodbine  until  they  hide  the  very  trees 
themselves  and  hang  in  great  festoons  from  branch  to  branch,  and 
through  it  all  the  soft  playing  of  a southern  breeze  wafting  the  fragrance 
of  wild  honeysuckle,  crab  apple  and  plum  blossoms — of  the  rose,  the 
myrtle,  the  magnolia  and  the  jessamine — such  are  the  woods  of  Acadia. 

The  timber  of  Southwest  Louisiana,  while  being  picturesque  in  the 
highest  degree,  also  possesses  an  intrinsic  value  that  few  are  able  to 
justly  appreciate.  Here  will  be  found  timber  in  abundance  for  fencing 
and  fuel,  relieving  the  inhabitants  of  the  stern  necessity  of  twisting  hay 
or  buying  coal;  thousands  of  acres  of  ash,  oak  and  hickory  for  wagons,, 
plows,  harrows,  harvesters  and  threshing  machines — enough  to  supply 
dozens  of  woodworking  factories  for  years  to  come. 

What  an  opportunity!  What  a demand  for  factories  to  work  up 
this  mine  of  wealth  of  raw  material  into  all  of  the  useful  implements 
and  commodities.that  are  being  shipped  in  here  from  the  Northern  states 
by  car  loads  every  day.  Two  of  the  most  inexplainable  problems  in 
connection  with  Southern  industries  has  always  been:  Why  the  South 
should  raise  the  cotton  of  the  world  and  then  send  abroad  for  its  fabrics 
when  they  should  be  manufactured  at  home;  and  why  the  South,  with 
its  millions  of  acres  of  the  choicest  timbers,’  should  send  to  the  Northern 
states  for  its  wagons  and  other  manufactural  products.  The  first  problem 
is  being  solved  by  the  erection  all  over  the  South  of  cotton  factories. 
Eastern  manufacturers  have  learned  that  they  have  been  losing  large 
sums  by  shipping  the  raw  material  thousands  of  miles  when  it  should  be 
manufactured  where  it  is  raised,  and  the  same  solution  is  to  be  found  in 
the  manufacturing  at  home  of  our  wogons,  buggies  and  all  other  kinds, 
of  wooden  implements. 


GROWTH  OF  TRANSPORATION 


APROPOS  of  what  has  been  said  of  the  growth  of  the  various 
agricultural  and  manufacturing  industries  of  the  South,  the  re- 
newed activity  in  real  estate  transactions,  as  well  as  the  general 
improvement  along  all  lines  of  business,  may  be  mentioned  the  wonder- 
ful growth  of  transportation  facilities  in  Southwest  Louisiana.  The 
immense  quantities  of  agricultural  products  that  the  fertile  prairies  of 
Southwest  Louisiana  produce,  together  with  the  large  amount  of  lumber 
that  the  pine  and  cypress  forests  lying  just  north  and  west  of  them  have 
been  turning  out  are  creating  a growing  demand  for  more  and  better 
transportation  facilities.  That  this  demand  is  being  met  with  an  in- 
creased supply  is  apparent  by  looking  over  this  section. 

As  compared  with  the  facilities  five  years  ago,  the  southwestern 
portion  of  the  State  has  increased  in  transportation  facilities  fully  300 
per  cent,  and  where  a few  years  ago  could  be  found  only  one  of  these 
great  arteries  of  commerce — the  Southern  Pacific  railroad — today  may 
be  found  a complete  network  of  railroads,  bringing  almost  every  planta- 
tion into  reasonable  hauling  distance  from  shipping  stations. 

The  work  of  railroad  extension  in  Southwest  Louisiana  was  begun 
by  the  Watkins  people  some  three  of  four  years  ago,  when  recognizing 
the  necessity  of  a northern  outlet  for  the  lumbering  interest  of  Cal- 
casieu parish,  and  with  a view  to  meeting  the  demand  arising  from  the 
growing  agricultural  interests  north  of  there,  it  was  decided  to  build  this 
road.  It  was  started  at  Lake  Charles  and  has  been  completed  as  far  north 
as  Alexandria,  on  its  way  to  Kansas  City.  It  is  known  as  the  Kansas 
City,  Watkins  and  Gulf  line,  and  is  proving  of  great  benefit  to  this  sec- 
tion, not  only  in  the  way  of  increasing  the  shipping  facilities  for  the 
large  output  of  lumber  and  agricultural  products,  but  is  an  important 
factor  in  bringing  new  settlers  into  the  southwestern  portion  of  the 
State.  The  management  of  this  line  conducted  a number  of  successful 


SCENE  AT  ABBOTT  BROS.  RICE  WAREHOUSE  AT  CROWLEY 


Growth  of  Transportation 


67 


excursions  to  the  South  during  the  past  winter,  bringing  several  car 
loads  of  northern  people  who  have  found  homes  in  this  section  of  Loui- 
siana. 

Beginning  at  Crowley*  the  Southern  Pacific  Co.  last  year  built  and 
has  in  successful  operation  a branch  road  known  as  the  Midland  Branch, 
running  north  'a  distance  of  thirty-two  miles  to  Eunice.  This  line  opens 
up  one  of  the  finest  agricultural  sections  in  the  State,  and  where  the 
planter  was  heretofore  compelled  to  haul  his  cotton,  rice  and  other  pro- 
duce a distance  of  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  to  Crowley  or  Opelousas, 
he  today  finds  splendid  railroad  facilities  at  his  very  door.  This  road 
has  been  the  incentive  and  the  means  of  building  up  several  prosperous 
and  important  towns  along  its  line,  which  are  in  turn  contributing  largely 
to  its  material  support  and  prosperity.  The  company  is  now  extend- 
ing this  branch  road  south  of  the  main  line  a distance  of  about  eighteen 
miles  into  Vermilion  parish,  where  a new  town  is  already  laid  out.  This 
extension  will  connect  with  the  Vermilion  Canal  and  Irrigation  Company’s 
works  on  the  Bayou  Queue-de-Tortue,  where  a $75,000  irrigation  plant 
has  already  been  erected  and  is  in  successful  operation.  Abbeville,  in 
Vermilion  parish,  is  also  another  location  that  is  on  the  line  of  railroad 
extension,  as  the  Southern  Pacific  Company  has  a branch  road  running 
from  New  Iberia  to  this  place  that  is  doing  a prosperous  business.  Since 
the  completion  of  the  road  to  Abbeville  the  town  has  taken  on  new  life — in 
fact,  greater  improvement  has  been  made  in  this  place  during  this  period 
than  in  a quarter  of  a century  before . And  now  the  people  of  Acadia  are 
rejoicing  over  the  prospect  of  having  another  railroad  traverse  this  parish, 
with  headquarters  at  Crowley,  to  be  known  as  the  Louisiana  Central  Rail- 
way. The  survey  of  the  new  line  is  nearly  completed  from  Crowley, 
running  north  through  Church  Point,  Opelousas  and  Washington,  strik- 
ing the  Gould  System  at  Palmetto  on  the  Texas  & Pacific  Railway. 
From  Crowley  the  road  will  be  built  twenty-five  miles  southeast  to  Abbe- 
ville on  the  Vermilion  river,  which  is  a large  and  important  stream  that 
will  afford  a splendid  outlet  for  the  road  by  a packet  line  to  New  Orleans, 
Galveston  and  other  large  ports.  While  this  movement  has  been  put  on 
foot  by  the  large  rice  planters  and  business  men  of  Acadia  and  St. 
Landry  parishes,  there  is  plenty  of  capital  behind  the  enterprise  to  insure 
its  completion.  New  York  brokers  are  anxious  to  advance  the  funds  for 
this  purpose.  The  route  selected  is  a most  feasible  one,  running  the 


-68 


Growth  of  Transportation 


-entire  distance  from  Abbeville  to  Palmetto  through  a level,  open  prairie 
country  with  neither  hills  nor  swamps  to  contend  with.  This  road  will 
be  of  vast  importance  to  the  planters  and  business  men  along  the  line, 
not  only  in  the  way  of  furnishing  additional  .transportation  facilities  for 
a large  section  that  has  heretofore  been  along  distance  from  markets, 
but  will  also  give  the  towns  along  the  Southern  Pacific  road  a competing 
line,  which  ought  to  be  felt  in  better  freight  rates,  as  it  will  probably  be 
•operated  by  the  Gould  System.  The  lands  lying  along  both  sides  of  this 
line  a distance  of  seventy-five  miles  are  among  the  most  productive  and 
fertile  of  any  in  the  State,  and  embrace  the  rich  sugar  lands  of  Vermilion 
.as  well  as  the  fertile  rice  lands  of  Acadia  and  St.  Landry  parishes. 
Some  of  the  best  business  men  as  well  as  many  of  the  wealthy  planters 
of  Vermilion,  Acadia  and  St.  Landry  parishes  are  interested  in  the  line 
and  will  push  it  to  completion  in  the  near  future.  Hon.  Hampton  Story 
and  Senator  H.  Barousse,  Hon.  Jno.  E.  Pelton  and  E.  Daboval,  Jr.,  of 
the  Acadia  Rice  Mills,  are  largely  interested  in  the  new  road,  with 
Welman  Bradford  as  chief  engineer  in  charge. 

Besides  the  activity  displayed  in  railroad  building  may  be  mentioned 
the  improvement  in  the  navigable  streams  of  the  southwest  portion 
•of  the  State.  The  Calcasieu  river,  in  Calcasieu  parish,  is  being  con- 
stantly improved  by  the  government  in  the  way  of  new  jetties  at  its 
mouth,  which,  aided  by  the  dredges,  are  fast  making  it  navigable  for 
large  sized  steamers.  The  Mermentau  river,  in  Acadia  parish,  is  another 
stream  that  has  lately  received  a share  of  public  attention,  and  is  fast 
becoming  a favorite  route  for  the  shipment  of  oranges,  rice,  live  stock, 
etc.,  coming  from  the  coast  country,  while  the  Vermilion  river,  running 
through  the  parishes  of  Lafayette  and  Vermilion  and  discharging  its 
waters  into  Vermilion  Bay,  affords  splendid  transportation  facilities 
down  its  course  to  the  Gulf,  or  up  the  river  to  the  Southern  Pacific  rail- 
road at  Lafayette,  up  to  which  point  it  is  navigable. 

Southwest  Louisiana  is  indeed  a favored  section,  threaded  as  it  is 
with  these  navigable  streams,  which  will  always  effectually  hold  in  check 
(if  only  by  the  possibility  of  what  they  offer)  any  desire  on  the  part  of 
railroads  toward  excessive  freight  rates,  and  being  traversed  in  every 
direction  by  railroads  until  almost  every  neighborhood  is  brought  within 
reasonable  distance  of  a railroad  town.  The  wonderful  increase  in  rail- 
road facilities  in  this  section  is  accounted  for  by  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand,  and  that  the  development  has  kept  even  pace  with  the  rapid 
growth  of  all  other  industries  is  plain  to  be  seen. 


CROWLEY 


•^T^HE  question  has  been  asked  many  times,  “What’s  in  a name? 
What’s  in  a word?”  There  are  many  words  and  many  names  that 
possess  within  themselves  an  individuality  and  convey  a world  of 
meaning  every  time  they  are  spoken.  From  the  association  connected 
with  them  instantly  is  suggested  to  use  the  possibilities  of  success  or 
failure,  or  revenge  or  humility,  of  love  and  passion,  of  defeat  or  victory, 
of  satisfaction  and  joy,  or  of  disappointment  and  sorrow.  At  the  men- 
tion of  an  “Appomattox”  or  a “Waterloo”  what  a horde  of  recollections 
and  memories  come  trooping  up!  When  in  foreign  lands  the  mention 
of  “America”  or  her  beloved  institutions  or  the  names  of  her  noble  men 
and  women  will  cause  a feeling  of  pleasure — the  heart  to  beat  faster  as 
it  throbs  with  a pardonable  pride  at  the  recollections  the  name  suggests. 
Mention  the  name  of  some  sweet  flower,  some  beloved  son  and  instantly 
the  springs  of  memory  are  unlocked  and  the  associations  connected  with 
them  present  themselves  to  us.  And  so  it  is  with  events  and  with  places. 
At  the  mention  of  the  name  of  Crowtley  at  once  is  suggested  the  ideas 
of  peace,  plenty  and  prosperity — of  a town  that  started  but  a few 
years  ago  under  the  most  unfavorable  auspices  and  that  has  grown  to  be 
one  of  the  brightest  and  busiest  little  cities  in  all  of  the  Southern  States 
— of  a city  of  churches,  public  schools,  colleges,  of  long  lines  of  ware- 
houses and  enormous  shipping  interests;  of  a town  filled  with  people  from 
nearly  every  state  in  the  Union,  from  whose  faces  have  been  driven  the 
look  of  depression  and  woe  caused  by  being  harassed  by  debt  and  crop 
failures  in  their  former  homes,  and  in  place  of  which  may  be  seen  bright, 
cheerful  looks  with  an  air  of  satisfaction  over  the  present  and  great  hopes 
for  the  future. 

The  word  Crowley  to  thousands  of.  Northern  people  who  have 
located  in  Acadia  parish  and  to  the  natives  of  this  section  alike,  has 
become  synonimous  with  everything  that  is  bright,  prosperous 


CROWLEY  STATE  BANK  BUILDING— PAID  UP  CAPITAL  $50,000 
P.  S.  Lovell,  President  W.  E.  Ellis,  Cashier 


Crowley 


7i 


and  progressive,  and  they  all  alike  turn  to  it  as  the  “Meca”  of  their 
existence.  The  town  enjoys  an  enviable  reputation,  not  only  locally  but 
throughout  the  State.  Neither  is  its  fame  confined  alone  to  the  Southern 
States.  In  most  of  the  Northern  States,  in  nearly  every  city,  town  and 
hamlet  may  be  found  dozens  and  scores  of  people  who,  if  they  have  not 
seen  the  place,  have  heard  of  its  prosperity  and  its  bright  prospects  for  the 
future.  The  town  is  known  far  and  near  as  the  “Queen  City  of  South- 
west Louisiana.”  Wherever  reside  the  friends  of  those  who  have  located 
here  or  wherever  newspapers  go,  Crowley  has  been  held  up  as  a model 
of  enterprise,  thrift  and  energy. 

Crowley  is  located  in  the  southern  part  and  is  the  county  seat  of 
Acadia  parish.  It  is  located  on  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  miles  west  of  New  Orleans  and  two  hundred  miles  east 
of  Houston,  and  is  the  central  receiving  and  distributing  point  for  a large 
and  one  of  the  richest  agricultural  sections  of  the  South. 

Crowley  has  a population  of  between  two  thousand  and  two  thou  - 
sand  five  hundred  people.  The  town  was  laid  out  in  1887.  It  has 
had  no  boom  or  mushroom  growth,  but  from  its  very  start  has  enjoyed 
a steady  and  prosperous  growth,  and  has  steadily  been  filling  up  with 
the  best  class  of  citizens,  all  of  whom  take  an  especial  pride  in  their 
town — in  its  institutions,  its  prosperity  and  everything  that  pertains  to  the 
welfare  of  the  place.  The  streets  are  all  nicely  graded  and  drained,  and 
there  has  already  been  laid  over  six  miles  of  good,  substantial  sidewalks. 
It  has  a good  county  court  house  and  an  $8,000. brick  jail,  opera  house, 
public  school  building  costing  $3,500  or  $4,000,  a $20,000  commercial 
and  literary  college,  four  or  five  of  the  largest  warehouses  in  the  State — 
one  of  them  alone  being  480  feet  long — with  a combined  capacity  of  over 
a million  bushels  of  rice,  one  large  elevator,  one  steam  brick  manufac- 
tory, one  steam  novelty  works,  two  rice  mills,  telephone  communications 
with  all  the  surrounding  towns,  and  one  bank  with  a new  banking  build- 
ing just  completed  at  a cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars;  is  the  best  horse 
market  in  the  State  outside  of  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  has  seven  church 
organizations  with  six  elegant  church  buildings,  one  machine  shop,  six 
blacksmith  shops,  two  tin,  sheet-iron  and  copper  working  shops,  one 
pump  factory,  one  wheelwright  shop,  two  meat  markets,  ten  general 
merchandise  stores,  five  grocery  stores,  two  gents’  furnishing  stores, 
three  millinery  stores,  three  drug  stores,  two  jewelers,  two  harness  shops, 


SOUTHERN  PACIFIC  RAILWAY  STATION,  CROWLEY,  LA. 


PUBLIC  SCHOOL  BUILDING,  CROWLEY 


Crowley 


73 


•one  bakery,  one  steam  job  printing  office,  three  livery,  sale  and  feed 
stables;  three  restaurants,  five  hotels  and  two  boarding  houses,  besides 
many  other  smaller  business  places  that  are  usually  to  be  found  in  a 
town  of  its  size. 

Crowley  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  largest  rice  shipping 
point  in  the  world,  there  being  a constant  stream  of  cars  from  October 
to  May  going  to  the  milling  centers  throughout  the  United  States. 

The  executive  authority  of  the  city  is  vested  in  Mr.  P.  J.  Chappuis, 
who  is  the  present  mayor.  Mr.  Chappuis  is  an  able  lawyer  and  a 
liberal-minded,  progressive  citizen,  and  aided  as  he  is  by  an  efficient  coun- 
cil has  done  much  that  adds  to  the  development  and  prosperity  of  the 
town. 

In  the  year  1886  Mr.  W.  W.  Duson  conceived  the  idea  of  build- 
ing a town  on  the  present  site  of  Crowley.  To  this  end  he  associated 
with  himself  his  elder  brother,  Hon.  C.  C.  Duson,  and  Mr.  Alphonse 
Levy,  a well  known  business  man  of  St.  Landry  parish,  with  two  or 
three  other  gentlemen,  forming  the  Southwestern  Louisiana  Land  Com- 
pany, and  the  site  of  Crowley  was  selected  as  the  base  of  their  opera- 
tions. To  this  company  and  the  untiring  energy  and  zeal  of  its  general 
manager,  Mr.  W.  W.  Duson,  is  largely  due  the  success  of  the  town. 
Mr.  Duson  is  a native  of  this  section  of  the  country,  and  possessing 
as  he  does  an  intimate  knowledge  of  its  valuable  resources  and  desir- 
ableness as  a home  for  northern  people,  has  exerted  all  his  energies  to- 
ward bringing  this  section  to  the  attention  of  those  people  seeking 
homes  in  the  South  and  today  he  has  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a pros- 
perous city  rapidly  building  and  peopled  with  a wide-awake,  progressive 
class  of  citizens  who  are  thoroughly  alive  to  the  interests  of  their  town. 
Early  in  the  history  of  Crowley  the  citizens  recognized  the  necessity  of 
providing  some  means  for  educational  facilities  which  would  place  them 
■on  a different  level  from  other  southern  towns.  They  determined  that 
a lack  of  good  schools  should  never  be  the  means  of  retarding  immigra- 
tion and  development  and  should  never  be  used  as  an  argument  against 
locating  in  Crowley.  They  here  showed  their  appreciation  of  higher 
education  and  their  generosity  by  going  down  into  their  pockets  and 
building  by  private  subscription  the  Acadia  Commercial  and  Literary 
College  at  a cost  of  over  $ 20,000 . The  building  is  one  of  the  handsomest 
and  best  equipped  for  school  purposes  of  any  in  the  State  outside  of  New 


74 


Crowley 


Orleans.  Soon  after  this  Crowley  was  asked  for  free  public  schools  on 
a larger  and  better  scale  than  what  the  State  could  or  would  furnish. 
Here  again  the  citizens  displayed  that  same  spirit  of  progress  and  gener- 
osity that  has  at  all  times  been  manifest  when  the  needs  and  the  best 
interests  of  the  town  where  it  stake.  It  took  a solicitor  just  one  day  to 
raise  the  $4,000  in  cash  needed  to  build  such  a public  school  house  as  was 
in  keeping  with  the  town’s  needs  and  growth.  This  is  a way  that  the 
citizens  of  Crowley  have  of  doing  things,  having  unbounded  faith  in  the 
future  of  the  town  and  knowing  that  every  dollar  they  put  out  in  this 
manner  is  “but  bread  cast  upon  the  water”  and  returns  to  them  two- 
fold in  the  increased  valuation  of  their  property.  In  this  respect  the 
town  is  a model  one  and  furnishes  an  object  lesson  and  example  that  is 
well  worth  emulating  by  older  towns  than  Crowley.  Its  citizens  and 
business  men  are  large-hearted  and  liberal-minded  and  there  is  less  of 
jealousy  and  the  petty  little  bickerings  that  make  life  in  a small  town  so 
distasteful  to  many,  and  more  of  that  genuine  feeling  of  good  fellowship 
and  all-pull-together-for-Crowley  than  can  be  found  in  most  any  other 
town.  The  town  is  regularly  laid  out  into  blocks  three  hundred  feet 
square  which  are  cut  up  into  sixteen  lots,  the  most  of  which  are  50  feet 
wide  and  100  feet  deep,  excepting  the  key  lots  which  run  half  way  across 
the  block,  making  them  150  feet  long.  The  streets  of  the  town  run  east 
and  west  and  are  known  as  First,  Second,  Third,  etc.,  while  all  thorough- 
fares running  north  and  south  are  known  as  avenues  and  are  named 
after  the  letters  of  the  alphabet.  The  court  house  occupies  a command- 
ing site  on  a square  of  ground  in  the  center  of  the  town  and  is  a sub- 
stantial brick  structure  which  has  been  cemented  outside  and  resembles 
a stone  building. 

Crowley  has  a good  sized  colored  population,  but  they  in  no  way 
interfere  with  the  white  people.  The  southwest  portion  of  the  town  has 
been  set  apart  for  their  residence  and  here  they  live,  having  their  own 
churches  and  schools  and  their  various  organizations  and  societies  with- 
out any  desire  on  their  part  to  mingle  or  intrude  upon  the  whites. 

The  town  of  Crowley  is  out  of  debt,  is  not  bonded,  taxes  are  very 
light,  and  at  the  present  time  has  nearly  money  enough  in  its  treasury 
to  erect  a splendid  water-works  system  and  electric  light  plant,  which 
we  shall  probably  have  by  January  1,  1896. 


Things  You  Want  to  Know  and  Questions  You  Want  Answered 


Q.  Is  it  a healthy  country  ? 

A.  There  is  no  healthier  climate  or  country  under  the  sun  than 
Southwest  Louisiana,  and  we  believe  it  to  be  a fact  that  the  death  rate 
is  lower  in  these  prairies  near  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  than  any  other  spot  in 
America. 

Q.  What  school  facilities  has  Acadia  parish  to  offer  ? 

A.  None  of  the  newer  parishes  can  compare  with  Acadia  in  the 
inducements  it  offers  to  the  immigrant  in  this  line.  Throughout  the 
parish  may  be  found  school  houses,  though  not  as  good  as  you  have  at 
home,  still  they  are  answering  the  purpose  until  something  better  can  be 
prepared.  Public  schools  are  maintained  about  six  months  in  the  year. 
The  town  of  Crowley  has  a fine  public  school  building  and  maintains  a 
free  public  graded  school  nine  months  in  the  year;  has  also  an  excellent 
college  and  one  or  two  private  schools. 

Q.  What  are  your  church  advantages  ? 

A.  Crowley  has  as  many  good  churches  as  any  town  of  its  size 
east,  west,  north  or  south  and  as  large  a per  cent  of  church  going  peo. 
pie.  There  are  six  good  church  buildings  and  seven  church  societies, 
besides  two  colored  churches.  The  Episcopal  society  will  erect  an  ele- 
gant building  in  the  near  future. 

Q.  Can  a Northern  man  stand  the  climate  in  the  summer  ? 

A.  Yes,  a Northern  man  can  stand  the  climate  at  any  season  of 
the) ear.  You  will  find  a longer  spell  of  warm  weather  than  in  the 
Northern  States  but  not  so  high  a temperature.  The  fact  that  thousands 
of  Northern  men  work  out  of  doors  in  the  sun  the  entire  summer  without 
inconvenience  should  convince  any  one  on  this  point.  If  Northern  men 
could  not  stand  this  climate  they  would  not  stay  here,  much  less  after 
they  had  tested  it,  send  for  their  wives  and  children,  their  fathers  and 
their  mothers. 

Q.  Are  there  many  venomous  snakes  and  poisonous  insects? 

A.  There  are  less  snakes  than  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  with  the 


76 


Things  You  Want  to  Know 


possible  exception  of  the  water  moccasin.  They  are  found  quite  plenti- 
ful in  the  streams  and  lakes,  but  are  entirely  harmless.  There  are  no 
poisonous  insects. 

Q.  Are  not  mosquitoes  and  flies  terrible  in  the  summer  ? 

A.  Mosquitoes  are  annoying  at  some  seasons;  no  more  so  here,, 
however,  than  in  most  of  the  Northern  states.  There  are  ten  house- 
fles  in  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Kansas  and  Nebraska  to  where  there  is  one  in 
Louisiana. 

Q.  Do  you  have  yellow  fever  in  Acadia  parish  ? 

A.  Never  had  a case  of  yellow  fever  in  Southwest  Louisiana,  and 
have  not  had  a case  in  the  State  for  seventeen  years.  No  more  danger 
of  yellow  fever  here  than  in  Dakota  or  New  York. 

Q.  Does  your  country  overflow  ? 

A.  Never  overflowed  but  once,  and  then  Noah  had  an  ark  and 
saved  all  the  good  people.  Acadia  parish  is  from  forty  to  sixty-  five  feet 
above  overflow. 

Q.  What  is  the  best  time  of  the  year>to  come  to  Louisiana  ? 

A.  Just  as  soon  as  you  can  close  up  your  business  in  the  North  or 
where  you  are  now.  One  season  is  as  good  as  another;  the  sooner  you 
get  here  the  better  chance  you  stand  to  secure  bargains  and  begin  living 
in  earnest. 

Q.  Does  northern  stock  do  well  in  Louisiana? 

A.  Horses  and  mules  do  well  with  the  same  care  for  the  first  year 
that  you  give  them  north.  Cattle  over  one  year  old  should  not  be 
brought  from  the  northern  states;  calves  and  yearlings  do  well  and  you 
run  no  risk  in  bringing  them. 

Q.  What  are  freight  and  passenger  rates  from  this  place  to  Crow- 
ley ? 

A.  You  had  better  write  us  particularly  on  this  subject,  and  we  will 
secure  for  you  the  lowest  possible  rates. 

Q.  What  are  work  horses  and  mules  worth  in  Crowley  ? 

A.  Mules  are  mostly  used,  and  when  young,  sound  and  good  weight 
sell  for  about  $275.00  per  span;  poorer  grades  can  be  bought  for  from 
fifty  to  eighty-five  dollars  each.  Horses  sell  for  from  $125.00  to  $225.00 
per  span. 

Q.  Would  you  advise  me  to  ship  my  goods  or  sell  them  and  buy 
again  ? 

A.  Unless  you  can  get  fair  prices  for  your  household  goods  and 


Things  You  Want  to  Know 


77- 


stock  fill  a car  and  ship  it.  The  same  machinery  you  used  north  will 
answer  your  purpose  here.  If  your  car  is  not  full,  fill  it  up  with  oats. 
With  each  car,  if  it  contains  live  stock,  you  are  entitled  to  transportation 
for  one  person. 

Q.  What  does  your  machinery  cost  in  Louisiana  ? 

A.  Farm  wagons  cost  about  $50.00  to  $55.00,  according  to  size  and 
quality;  walking  plows  about  $1.00  per  inch,  $12.00  for  12-inch  plow, 
$16.00  for  16-inch;  sulky  plows  from  $40.00  to  $65.00;  self  binding  har- 
vesters— McComack,  Deering  and  Osborne — $150. 00  each;  harrows  from 
$8.00  to  $25.00,  according  to  make  and  size. 

Q.  How  is  the  drinking  water  in  Louisiana  ? 

A.  Good,  wholesome,  pure  water  may  be  obtained  at  a depth  of 
from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet.  This  is  about  the  depth  of  the  clay  until 
you  strike  a strata  of  sand  and  gravel  which  supplies  an  abundance  of 
good  water  for  stock  or  household  purposes.  The  subject  of  drinking 
water  is  one  on  which  there  is  a diversity  of  opinion.  Although  well 
water  is  largely  used  for  drinking  purposes,  rain  water,  which  is  caught 
in  large  cypress  cisterns  standing  up  from  the  ground  is  most  universally 
used.  Throughout  the  northern  states,  if  a barrel  of  rain  water  is- 
caught  and  left  standing  ten  days  or  two  weeks  in  the  sun  the  water  will 
be  full  of  wigglers,  have  a green  scum,  and  in  fact  be  putrid.  Here  a 
barrel  or  cistern  of  rain  water  stands  out  in  the  sun  all  summer  and 
keeps  as  clear  and  pure  as  a crystal.  This  fact  is  supposed  to  be  attri- 
butable to  the  purity  of  the  salt  breezes  that  constantly  sweep  this  coun- 
try from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  herein  may  be  found  one  of  the  greatest 
causes  of  the  extreme  healthfulness  of  this  section. 

Q.  What  markets  have  you  for  the  products  you  raises  ? 

A.  We  are  midway  between  the  cities  of  Galveston  and  Houston 
on  the  west  and  New  Orleans — the  greatest  cotton,  sugar  and  rice  market 
in  America,  if  not  in  the  world — on  the  east,  and  which  is  also  a good 
lumber  market.  Within  the  next  eighteen  months  we  will  undoubtedly 
have  the  Louisiana  Central  railroad  running  the  entire  length  of  our 
parish  and  connecting  with  some  of  the  northern  trunk  lines,  if  not  with 
the  Mississippi  river  only  seventy-five  miles  distant  at  Baton  Rouge,  the 
State  capitol. 


A FEW  OPINIONS 


The  following  is  a letter  written  by  Mr.  P.  S.  Lovell,  formerly  of 
Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  and  published  in  the  Sotithern  States  Magazine , in 
July,  1894: 

Being  tired  of  the  cold  winters  of  Michigan,  I determined  to  locate 
in  the  South.  After  investigating  different  localities  I decided  that 
Southwest  Louisiana  was  the  place  for  me,  and  in  the  spring  of  1891  I 
settled  at  Crowley,  in  Acadia  parish,  and  have  never  regretted  the  change. 

There  are  more  opportunities  for  the  profitable  investment  of  capital 
in  Southwest  Louisiana  than  in  any  other  section  of  the  Uuited  States 
with  which  I am  familiar.  The  man  of  moderate  means  can,  by  thrift 
and  economy,  much  more  easily  secure  a competence  here  than  in  the 
North. 

While  in  this  locality  rice  is  our  main  crop,  corn  and  cane  do  equally 
well.  Everything  needed  for  good  living,  except  wheat,  can  be  grown 
here.  Gardens  flourish  the  year  round,  there  being  no  month  in  which 
fruit  and  vegetables  may  not  be  gathered.  Fruits  of  all  kinds,  including 
peaches,  pears,  plums,  apricots,  figs,  oranges  and  berries  grow  luxuri- 
antly. 

It  is  also  an  excellent  stock  country.  The  pine  lands  equal  those 
of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  and  can  at  present  be  bought  very  cheaply. 
This  country  offers  inviting  opportunities  for  manufacturers.  Acadia 
parish  is  rapidly  filling  up  with  Northern  and  Western  people.  They  have 
found  the  climate  an  exceptionally  healthy  one,  and  have  had  the  kindest 
of  treatment  from  their  Southern  neighbors.  In  the  whole  parish  I know 
of  no  Northern  man  who  has  not  been  financially  benefitted  by  the  change. 

Crowley,  Louisiana. 

The  following  is  a letter  written  by  Mr.  B.  R.  Garland,  of  Rockville, 
Ind.,  who  located  in  this  country  about  four  years  ago,  which  was  publish- 
ed in  the  Souther ?i  States  Magazine  in  December,  1894: 

I came  -from  Rockville,  Ind.,  to  Crowley,  La.,  about  three  years 
ago,  and  have  been  growing  rice  successfully  and  profitably.  The  people 
of  this  section  do  not  know  what  hard  times  are.  Because  there  comes 
-a  year  occasionally  when  they  do  not  realize  three  or  four  times  the  cost 


A Few  Opinions 


79 


of  their  lands  they  call  it  hard  times,  but  they  know  absolutely  nothing 
of  such  want  and  suffering  as  are  experienced  in  some  sections. 

In  the  first  place,  lands  are  cheap  and  sold  on  easy  terms  at  a low 
rate  of  interest,  and  if  a man  has  not  a home  of  his  own  it  is  his  own 
fault.  Cheap  lands,  cheap  fuel,  cheap  building  material,  cheap  colthing 
and  cheap  food--— all  this  in  a land  that  will  produce  sugar,  rice,  cotton, 
corn,  oats,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  fruit  of  all  kinds  and  every  manner 
and  variety  of  vegetables.  I know  of  many  men  who  came  here  two  or 
three  years  ago  with  from  $200  to  $500  and  today  have  a quarter  section 
of  land  with  good  buildings  well  stocked,  their  years  feed  and  seed  and 
free  from  debt.  How  many  countries  can  do  this  for  a man?  I defy 
anyone  to  point  out  any  section  of  the  United  States  today  that  has  done 
more  for  the  industrious  poor  man  or  more  for  the  health  of  the  invalid 
or  more  for  the  capitalist  in  the  way  of  steady  rise  in  values  and  large 
returns  on  investments  than  this  section  of  Louisiana  during  the  past  five 
years. 

The  people  of  this  State  have  always  performed  their  labor  by  the 
hardest  and  most  expensive  means,  and  now  that  new  and  improved 
machinery  is  being  introduced  it  is  cheapening  the  cost  of  production, 
and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  rice  is  raised  at  a cost  of  $1.00  per  barrel  less 
than  it  was  five  years  ago,  with  many  possibilities  of  still  further  reduc- 
tions. 

Crowley,  Louisiana. 

The  following  is  a letter  written  by  Mr.  L.  S.  Hatch  which  was 
published  in  the  August,  1894,  issue  of  the  Southern  States  Magazine: 

During  the  war  I spent  two  years  in  Louisiana  as  a soldier,  and 
although  at  that  time  some  things  were  not  as  pleasant  as  could  be  de- 
sired, still  many  times  after  returning  to  my  Northern  home  my  thoughts 
would  turn  to  the  fair  land  of  Louisiana — to  its  mild  and  even  climate, 
its  orchards  and  flower  gardens;  its  productive  soil,  and  many  other 
advantages  it  affords  over  the  North. 

In  1888  my  health  became  so  impaired  that  it  became  necessary  for 
me  to  seek  a warmer  climate.  I sold  out  my  little  property  I had  ac- 
cumulated and  bade  good-bye  to  the  blizzard-beaten  prairies  of 
Nebraska  and  pulled  for  the  “old  camping  ground”  and  once  more 
hoisted  the  stars  and  stripes,  this  time  over  my  own  home,  with  the 
same  men  for  neighbors  who  had  helped  to  make  it  so  unpleasant  for  me 
during  my  first  visit  to  this  section  of  the  country.  I certainly  find  a 
greater  difference  in  them  as  soldiers  than  as  neighbors  and  friends. 

We  have  rice  for  our  principal  and  money-making  crop  here  instead 
of  corn  or  wheat,  as  compared  with  Nebraska  and  other  Northern  States. 
Rice  is  raised  at  about  the  same  expense  as  wheat  is  raised  in  Nebraska,. 


8o 


A Few  Opinions 


the  same  machinery  being  used  for  seeding,  harvesting  and  threshing 
the  crop  as  is  used  in  any  Northern  State  for  a crop  of  grain. 

In  the  Northern  States  wheat  is  raised  on  land  worth  from  $30  to  $60 
per  acre,  and  from  ten  to  fifteen  bushels  is  considered  a fair  yield. 
Now,  at  the  price  of  wheat  for  the  last  ten  years,  say  fifty  to  seventy - 
five  cents,  the  farmer  will  hardly  have  money  enough  to  pay  the  expense 
of  the  crop,  and  he  considers  himself  fortunate  if  the  balance  is  not  on 
the  wrong  side  of  the  ledger.  Rice  is  raised  on  lands  worth  from  $10  to 
.$15  per  acre,  and  ten  to  fifteen  barrels  per  acre  considered  a fair  crop, 
worth  from  $2  to  $3  per  barrel.  Then,  again,  these  prairie  lands  are 
well  adapted  to  the  culture  of  sugar  cane.  This  is  acknowledged  by 
.agriculturists  everywhere  to  be  the  best  paying  crop  that  is  raised  any- 
where in  the  United  States. 

Another  advantage  this  country  possesses  over  the  North  is  its  mild 
winters.  There  are  six  months  of  the  year  in  the  North  when  the  farmer 
has  all  he  can  do  to  keep  himself  and  his  stock  from  suffering  with 
cold,  thus  leaving  him  only  six  months  in  which  to  earn  something  that 
is  usually  consumed  the  next  winter.  The  farmer  of  Southwest  Loui- 
siana has  the  entire  year  in  which  to  labor.  He  usually  does  his  plow- 
ing in  December  and  January,  while  his  stock  run  on  the  prairies  or  on 
his  pasture  the  year  round.  All  kinds  of  vegetables  do  well  here,  and 
with  a little  care  and  attention  the  farmer  can  have  a garden  in  the 
winter  as  well  as  in  the  summer.  It  is  also  an  excellent  fruit  country; 
all  of  the  fruits  that  grow  in  the  North  and  many  that  will  not  grow 
there,  are  raised  here  with  little  or  no  attention. 

The  timber  and  waste  places  are  filled  with  blackberries,  plums 
and  other  fruits.  There  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  farmer  from  preserv- 
ing and  canning  all  the  fruit  that  a family  can  use.  I have  a very  large 
family,  but  have  had  fruit  on  my  table  nearly  every  meal  for  a year 
and  still  have  some  seventy-five  jars  left  from  last  year. 

The  greatest  drawback  this  country  has  is  its  poor  school  system, 
but  this  is  improving  very  rapidly.  The  town  of  Crowley  is  well  supplied 
with  public  schools  and  colleges,  and  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous  towns 
in  the  State  of  Louisiana. 

Farmers  of  this  section  are  fast  learning  the  benefits  of  diversified 
farming,  and  hereafter  will  raise  their  own  meats,  corn  and  other  grain  and 
not  depend  on  other  sections  to  furnish  them  so  largely  as  in  the  past. 
Since  coming  to  Louisiana  I have  made  rice-raising  my  principal  busi- 
ness, and  this  year  will  put  in  about  300  acres  of  rice,  besides  a nice 
field  of  sugar  cane. 

Good  pure  water  is  obtained  at  a depth  of  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet, 
but  cistern  water  is  used  mostly  for  drinking  purposes.  The  native  people 
-of  this  section  of  the  country  are  an  easy-going  people,  and  I believe  are 


A Few  Opinions 


8i 


the  happiest  people  in  the  world.  They  told  us  when  we  came  here 
we  would  starve,  but  we  told  them  while  we  are  starving 
that  they  would  get  pretty  lean  and  hungry.  I find  them  to  be  a 
kind-hearted,  generous  and  hospitable  people,  and  with  but  few  excep- 
tions without  very  much  ambition  to  better  their  condition. 

There  is  plenty  of  room  here  for  thousands  of  people  who  are  being 
frozen  up  in  the  fall  and  thawed  out  every  spring;  plenty  of  room  for 
them  to  come  here  and  build  up  a home  for  themselves  and  their 
children. 

Crowley,  Louisiana. 

The  following  letter  was  written  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Williams,  formerly 
of  St.  Paul,  Neb.,  and  published  in  the  Southern  States  Magazine , 
October,  1894: 

I came  to  Louisiana  in  1887  from  St.  Paul,  Nebraska,  where  I had 
been  alternately  freezing  and  thawing  since  1880.  I was  attracted  to 
the  town  of  Crowley,  which  had  just  been  started,  and  which  has  now  a 
population  of  2,000. 

I find  in  this  land  of  the  sun  that  anyone  may  come  with  a small 
amount  of  means  and  make  a home  for  himself.  In  this  parish  rice  cul- 
ture has  been  the  main  crop.  We  have  plenty  of  good  rice  and  cane 
lands  here  to  be  had  for  from  $5  to  $25  per  acre. 

This  country  has  taken  a wonderful  stride  forward.  What  six 
years  ago  was  an  open  prairie  with  cattle  roaming  over  it  at  their  own 
will  and  pleasure  has  been  converted  into  a vast  network  of  fences, 
lanes  and  farms,  all  of  which  has  been  brought  about  mainly  through 
the  efforts  of  W.  W.  Duson,  the  founder  of  Crowley. 

A new  railroad  running  north  and  south,  and  known  as  the  Mid- 
land Branch  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  taking  in  a magnificent  farming 
country,  tapping  our  Southern  Pacific  about  eight  miles  west  of  Crowley, 
has  been  built. 

This  is  a healthy  country.  Northern  men  may  be  seen  working  in 
their  rice  fields  all  day  long  with  less  concern  about  the  hot  sun  than 
they  did  in  their  Northern  homes. 

Besides  my  half  section  of  fine  land  near  town  I have  a block  near 
the  center  of  the  town  with  a good  house  on  it,  and  fine  orchard  of  120 
Leconte  pear  trees  in  bearing.  When  I landed  here  I had  about  $300 
in  cash.  Figs,  peaches,  plums,  apricots,  strawberries  and  blackberries 
all  do  well  here. 

Crowley,  Louisiana. 

The  following  is  a letter  written  by  Miron  Abbott,  who  came  from 
Muskegon,  Michigan,  about  seven  years  ago.  The  letter  was  published 


82 


A Few  Opinions 


in  the  Southern  States  Magazine  in  September,  1894.  Mr.  Abbott,  with 
his  brothers,  came  to  Crowley  with  less  than  a $1,000.  Today  they  are 
worth  $100,000  as  the  result  of  their  industry,  their  intelligence  and  the 
natural  resources  of  Acadia  soil.  He  says: 

I came  from  Muskegon,  Michigan,  five  years  ago  to  Crowley, 
Louisiana,  or  to  the  place  where  Crowley  now  stands,  for  at  this  time 
Crowley  existed  only  in  the  minds  of  its  projectors. 

The  first  essential  quality  that  a country  should  possess,  and  that 
any  man,  especially  with  a family,  will  seek  is  a healthy  climate,  and  in 
this  respect  Southwest  Louisiana  certainly  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list. 
To  the  sudden  changes  and  extremes  of  temperature  can  be  attributed 
most  of  the  cases  of  catarrh,  bronchitis,  consumption,  rheumatism,  etc., 
so  prevalent  in  the  North. 

Southwest  Louisiana  being  a fertile  country  and  located  only  thirty 
miles  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  has  the  benefit  of  the  invigorating  Gulf 
breezes  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  This,  with  an  abundant  water  sup- 
ply of  the  purest  drinking  water,  is  largely  responsible  for  the  excellent 
state  of  health  which  the  inhabitants  of  this  section  enjoy. 

I many  years  ago  decided  that  there  were  too  many  people  raising 
corn,  wheat,  oats  and  barley  in  the  North,  and  that  on  account  of  the 
overproduction  of  these  crops  it  was  no  longer  a paying  business.  I was 
also  aware  that  in  some  sections  of  the  South  a class  of  products  could  be 
raised  in  a limited  section,  and  there  could  be  no  over  production  of  them. 
It  was  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  first  condition  and  finding  the  latter 
that  we  left  the  State  of  Michigan  and  came  to  Southwest  Louisiana, 
and  I find  that  the  conditions  that  we  were  seeking  exist  here  to  a greater 
extent  than  we  expected  to  find. 

In  the  first  place  the  health  of  myself  and  family  has  been  all  that 
we  could  wish  for;  we  have  seen  the  lands  that  we  located  a few  years 
ago  as  government  homesteads  increase  in  value  from  nothing  to  from 
$25  to  $40  per  acre.  I have  seen  my  friends  and  neighbors,  some  of 
them  who  have  worked  by  days  work  all  their  lives  previous  to  coming 
to  Louisiana,  now  prosperous  and  in  possession  of  fine  farms  well 
stocked  with  cattle,  mules  and  horses  and  free  from  debt.  I have  seen 
these  lands  that  a few  years  ago  were  thought  to  be  almost  worthless, 
by  proper  cultivation  produce  two  crops  of  Irish  potatoes  of  as  fine 
a quality  as  I ever  saw  in  any  Northern  State.  I find  beautiful  and  lux- 
uriant vegetable  gardens  growing  to  the  highest  state  of  perfection  in  mid- 
winter. I find  that  these  lands  that  have  been  overlooked  or  passed  by  as 
worthless  by  the  homeseeker  for  the  past  twenty-five  years  in  his  search 
for  a home  are  capable  of  producing  from  fifteen  to  thirty-five  tons  of 
sugar  cane  per  acre,  worth  $4.00  per  ton  at  the  railroad  station,  or  from 


A Few  Opinions 


83 


ten  to  twenty  barrels  of  rice,  worth  from  $ 2.00  to  $3.00  per  barrel.  I 
find  that  the  stories  that  used  to  be  told  about  Louisiana  beibg  nothing 
but  a swamp  filled  with  alligators,  with  occasionally  a dry  sp6t  of  land 
which  was  covered  with  snakes  and  other  venomous  reptiles — that  the 
people  were  of  the  fire-eating  sort  and  looked  with  suspicion,  hatred  and 
distrust  toward  Northerners  who  settled  amongst  them — are  all  bosh  and 
nonsense. 

No  finer  peaches,  pears,  oranges,  pomegranates,  quinces,  gripes, 
plums,  blackberries,  strawberries  and  other  fruits  ever  grew  than  are 
raised  in  this  section.  There  are  no  finer  farming  lands  thaik  these 
prairies  of  Southwest  Louisiana,  and  no  better  timber  in  the  world  than 
is  to  be  found  along  the  streams  of  this  country. 

No  man  could  ask  for  a kinder,  more  generous  people  or  fqr  a 
heartier  welcome  than  is  extended  by  the  native  people  of  Louisiana.  I 
do  not  mean  to  convey  the  idea  that  Louisiana  is  a paradise,  with  none 
of  the  drawbacks  that  other  new  countries  have  to  contend  with,  f'lpr 
such  is  not  the  case.  Louisiana  needs  better  roads  and  a better  school 
system.  It  needs  more  money  for  manufacturing  purposes,  it  needs  ft 
different  system  of  handling  her  crops;  it  needs  legislation  on  several 
important  subjects.  But  we  do  claim  that  Southwest  Louisiana* 
possesses  more  and  better  opportunities  for  supporting  a family  £.nd 
laying  something  by  for  a rainy  day  than  any  of  the  Northern  or  Western 
States  and,  I believe,  than  any  other  section  of  the  South. 

From  my  experience  and  observation  of  five  years  in  this  section]  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  any  sober,  industrious  man  who  will  come  to  this 
section  of  the  country  and  put  forth  the  same  amount  of  energy  and  u$e 
the  same  economy  that  he  is  compelled  to  use  in  the  North  will  very 
soon  find  himself  independent.  \ 

This  section  also  offers  splendid  inducements  for  the  capitalist!. 
Property  is  constantly  increasing  in  value,  and  lands  that  are  today  sell- 
ing for  $10  per  acre,  in  the  next  three  years  will  bring  $40  and  $50.  It 
takes  years  to  turn  the  tide  of  emigration  when  once  it  has  set  in  in  one 
direction.  For  the  past  twenty  years  emigration  has  been  to  the  West 
and  Northwest.  The  American  people,  as  well  as  the  German  and 
Scandinavian  races,  are  not  unlike  flocks  of  sheep — where  some  leader 
goes,  the  flock  follows.  The  fact  that  when  California  was  brought  to 
the  attention  of  homeseekers  they  poured  into  that  state  until  there  was 
no  longer  room  for  them,  and  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  land  sold 
for  anywhere  from  $100  to  $700  per  acre;  the  same  with  Illinois,  Iowa, 
Wisconsin  and  Minnesota.  This  confirms  my  opinion  that  the  South,  and 
particularly  this  section  of  it,  is  on  the  eve  of  the  most  prosperous  era  it 
has  every  known.  The  advance  guards  have  come  and  are  still  coming 
until  there  are  now  in  Acadia  parish  people  from  every  state  in  the 


84 


A Few  Opinions 


Union.  Tljey  are  writing  and  telling  their  friends,  and  their  good  reports 
cannot  help  but  have  its  effects.  It  is  a fact  that  immigration  has  turned 
Southward,  and  from  past  experience  and  present  indications  this  will 
soon  be  as  well  developed  and  thickly  settled  a country  as  California. 

In  c/onclusion  I will  say  I came  to  Louisiana  for  the  purpose  of  find- 
ing a milder  climate  and  a place  where  a man  could  get  fair  and  honest 
returns/for  his  labor  and  where  the  conditions  were  more  favorable  for 
a poo'*/  man  and  where  I could  better  my  condition,  and  after  residing 
here  fi;ye  years  I am  pleased  to  say  I am  satisfied,  my  only  regret  being 
that  I did  not  come  five  years  before  I did. 

/ Crowley,  Louisiana. 


Marshall,  Ind.,  September,  1895. 
Me4srs.  JV.  W.  Duson  &=  Bro.,  Crozuley , La.: 

Gentlemen — Referring  to  your  request  for  my  opinion  as  to  South- 
west Louisiana  and  the  advantages  it  offers  to  the  Northern  man  who 
wi/shes  to  change  his  location,  I beg  first  in  reply  to  say,  it  would  be  a 
difficult  task  indeed  to  estimate  or  sum  up  the  advantages  that  your  sec- 
tion offers.  I am  more  and  more  impressed  with  this  idea  every  time  I 
Jsit  that  country. 

/The  phenomenal  growth  and  development  of  Southwest  Louisiana, 
the  /profitableness  of  her  agricultural  products,  the  heathfulness  of  her 
clin/iate  and  the  prosperity  of  our  Northern  people  who  have  located  there 
spe/ak  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  natural  resources  of  that  favored  sec- 
tion. I am  more  than  pleased  with  the  investment  I made  there  through 
yoiir  firm  a few  years  ago  and  consider  the  lands  of  Acadia  and  Vermilion 
parishes  as  safe  investments,  and  can  see  no  reason  why  your  section 
should  not  have  a bright  future  before  it,  and  your  real  estate  values 
dpuble  in  the  next  few  years. 

/ Wishing  you  success  in  the  laudable  enterprise  of  settling  up  that 
^ection  with  a thrifty  and  prosperous  class  of  people,  I remain,  , 

/ Sincerely  yours, 

A.  R McMurtry. 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


WHILE  the  natural  conditions  of  this  country — its  superb 
climate,  fertile  soil,  cheap  lands,  abundant  crops  and  good 
prices  for  the  past  eight  years — have  been  important  factors- 
in  settling  up  this  section — in  fact  the  very  basis  on  which  the  prosper- 
ity of  Acadia  parish  is  founded — yet  there  have  been  other  elements 
and  other  agencies  at  work  that  have  turned  the  tide  of  immigration  from 
the  West  to  the  South  and  brought  this  section  and  the  advan- 
tages it  offers  prominently  before  the  capitalist,  the  agriculturist 
and  the  thousands  of  steady,  hardworking  yeoman  of  the  North. 
All  these  natural  atributes  of  soil  and  climate  have  been  here 
for  ages,  lying  dormant,  untouched  and  undeveloped,  the  stillness- 
unbroken  save  by  the  plaintive  wail  of  the  whippowil  or  the 
mocking  bird’s  rollicking  song;  and  the  prairies  so  capable  of  producing; 
the  necessities  of  life,  covered  year  after  year  with  almost  a tropical 
growth,  only  to  be  enriched  by  their  own  vegetation  for  a thousand  sum- 
mers, would  have  remained  in  this  condition  with  all  their  wealth  of 
natural  resources  to  the  end  of  time  had  it  not  been  for  man,  with  his 
spirit  of  restlessness  and  indomitable  energy  and  desire  for  advancement 
and  to  accomplish  something. 

The  first  to  call  the  attention  of  the  outside  world  to  the  unlimited: 
resources  of  Acadia  parish  was  the  firm  of  W.  W.  Duson  & Bro.  This 
firm  is  composed  of  two  well  known  Louisiana  men  that  need  no  intro- 
duction to  the  people  of  their  native  State.  To  the  manager  of  the  firm,. 
Mr.  W.  W.  Duson,  more  than  to  any  other  living  man  is  due  the  credit 
of  transforming  Acadia  parish  from  an  unbroken  cattle  range  eight  years 
ago  into  what  today  is  admitted  to  be  the  most  prosperous  agricultural 
section  in  the  United  States.  The  success  of  this  firm  has  been  almost 
phenominal.  Starting  as  it  did  with  little  or  no  means,  it  has  built 


86 


Biographical 


up  a business  second  to  no  real  estate  dealers  in  the  South.  One  of  the 
greatest  elements  of  success  that  has  entered  into  Mr.  Duson’s  business 
career  is  the  honesty  and  integrity  of  his  purpose.  Possessing,  as  he 
does,  a strong  love  and  attachment  for  his  native  State,  and  appreciating 
the  advantages  it  offered  in  climate,  soil  and  other  resources,  it  was  a 
source  of  annoyance  to  him  to  see  a constant  stream  of  immigration 
from  the  East  pouring  into  the  Western  States  and  Territories  that  had  so 
few  inducements  to  offer,  while  the  broad  and  fertile  prairies  of  his  own 
State  remained  undeveloped  and  not  even  investigated.  The  question 
being  one  of  vital  importance  to  him  he  began  to  study  the  causes  why 
Louisiana  was  so  constantly  being  shunned  by  the  prospective  home- 
seeker  and  the  capitalist  alike.  The  cause  was  soon  found  to  be  a 
prejudice  against  the  State  and  an  utter  ignorance  of  her  resources. 
From  that  day  to  this  possibly  no  man  in  the  State  has  done  as  much 
toward  obliterating  this  prejudice  and  disseminating  the  facts  and  con- 
ditions as  they  actually  exist  than  W.  W.  and  his  brother  C.  C.  Duson. 
Realizing  the  importance  of  the  work  and  the  difficulties  surrounding  his 
undertaking,  W.  W.  Duson  organized  the  Southwestern  Louisiana  Land 
Company  and  became  its  general  manager.  This  gave  him  the  means 
and  opportunity  of  prosecuting  the  business  he  had  undertaken,  and  he 
assumed  the  difficult  task  of  settling  up  the  prairies  of  Southwest 
Louisiana  with  a thrifty,  prosperous  class  of  Northern  farmers  and  busi- 
ness men  with  an  energy  and  strength  of  purpose  that  soon  made  itself 
felt.* 

Engravers  were  set  to  work  making  maps  of  this  section  of  country, 
printing  presses  and  newspapers  began  telling  of  the  resources  of  South- 
west Louisiana,  type-writers  were  employed  in  corresponding  with  and  in- 
viting people  to  visit  this  region  and  see  for  themselves,  and  excursion  trains 
were  run  at  the  company’s  own  expense.  Men  came  from  the  different 
sections  of  the  country.  They  lookod  on  with  astonishment  at  the  won- 
derful crops  that  were  raised — saw  them  sold  and  the  farmer  put  his 
money  in  his  pocket  and  go  home  after  more,  but  were  unable  to  solve 
the  problem.  They  said:  “It  is  an  exceptional  year;  next  year  the 
crops  will  be  poor.”  Men  who  had  lived  here  all  of  their  lives  told  them 
crops  never  failed.  Then  they  said:  “It  must  be  very  unhealthy  here, 
or  this  country  would  have  been  settled  up  generations  ago.”  They  saw 
old  men  eighty  and  ninety  years  of  age  who  told  them  they  were  born, 


Biographical 


87 


and  had  raised  large  families  here  and  had  never  been  sick  a day  in  their 
lives.  The  fears  they  had  when  they  came  that  the  Southerners  would 
murder  them  because  they  came  from  the  North  were  dispelled  by  the 
hearty  handshake  of  the  native  and  a pressing  invitation  from  the  good 
housewife  to  “come  and  drink  coffee.”  Some  of  these  men  who  visited 
Acadia  parish  six  or  seven  years  ago  had  nerve  enough  to  -trust  their  own 
eyes  and  believed  what  they  saw.  They  had  business  sagacity  enough 
to  see  that  this  country  had  a rich  and  brilliant  future  before  it.  They 
grasped  the  situation,  and  the  time  which  comes  in  the  affairs  of  men  was 
taken  at  the  tide  and  today  they  are  independent.  Others  went  away 
still  wondering  and  doubting,  and  they  have  been  regretting  the  mistake 
they  made  ever  since.  The  constant  efforts  of  Mr.  Duson  and  his  able 
associates  in  the  land  company  to  bring  Acadia  parish  to  the  attention, 
of  the  Northern  States  was  felt  each  year  by  an  increased  number  of  im- 
migrants. Invariably  when  a man  visited  Acadia  parish  and  the  new7 
town  of  Crowley  which  the  company  had  started,  whether  they  invested1 
or  not  have  ever  since  been  the  staunch . friends  of  the  country  and 
universally  speak  a good  word  for  it.  They  have  told  their  friends  of 
what  they  saw  here  and  the  opportunities  offered.  This  in  itself  has 
been  a great  factor  in  settling  up  the  country  and  has  materially  lightened 
the  task  Mr.  Duson  had  undertaken.  Personally,  Mr.  Duson  is  a man  of 
great  energy  and  force  of  character.  He  knows  no  such  thing  as  fail, 
and  is  generous  to  a fault,  giving  largely  of  his  means  for  the  support  of 
churches,  schools  and  anything  that  will  materially  build  up  Southwest 
Louisiana  or  better  the  condition  of  the  people  in  the  community  in  which 
he  lives.  Many  is  the  young  man  who  attributes  today  his  start  in  life 
to  the  aid  and  assistance  of  W.  W.  Duson.  His  brother  and  partner  in 
business,  the  Hon.  C.  C.  Duson,  of  St.  Landry  parish,  is  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  favorably  known  men  in  the  State.  He  was  for  fourteen 
years  the  sheriff  of  St.  Landry  parish  before  it  was  divided,  and  made 
probably  the  best  record  of  any  sheriff  the  State  has  ever  elected  to  the 
office.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  when  every  section  of  the  South 
was  infested  with  organized  bands  of  outlaws  from  both  the  North  and! 
South,  through  his  stubborn  determination  that  the  law  should  be  upheld 
he  succeeded  in  breaking  up  and  driving  out  of  the  State  the  last  member 
of  the  desperate  gangs,  many  of  whom  were  convicted  and  hung  while 
others  are  now  serving  life  sentences  in  the  penitentiary.  Mr.  Duson  is 


S8 


Biographical 


also  an  ex- Senator  from  his  district.  He  is  a man  of  great  personal 
magnetism,  a brilliant  conversationalist  with  a mind  richly  stored  with 
personal  reminiscences  of  the  early  history  of  Louisiana,  takes  great 
interest  in  the  politics  of  his  State  and  is  one  of  the  leaders  of  his  party. 
As  a business  man  Mr.  Duson  stands  among  the  first  in  Southwest  Louis- 
iana— like  his  brother  W.  W.,  is  well  thought  of  by  the  business  men  of 
the  State  or  wherever  he  is  known. 

Besides  their  extensive  business  interests  in  Crowley,  these  enter- 
prising gentlemen  about  eighteen  months  ago  undertook  the  building  up 
and  development  of  those  lands  lying  in  the  western  part  of  the  parish 
of  Acadia.  With  this  end  in  view  they  induced  the  management  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Company  to  build  a branch  of  their  road  twenty-five 
miles  north,  known  as  the  Midland  Branch.  This  line  begins  about 
eight  miles  west  of  Crowley  and  runs  north  twenty-five  miles  up  into  the 
parish  of  St.  Landry  to  the  town  of  Eunice.  It  took  but  six  months  to 
obtain  the  right-of-way  for  this  line,  grade  the  road  and  lay  the  track. 
On  September  12,  1894,  a public  sale  of  lots  was  held  at  the  new  town  of 
Eunice,  at  which  time  $25,000  worth  of  property  was  sold,  on  the  most 
of  which  improvements  were  begun  at  once.  Today  it  would  be  a hard 
matter  indeed  to  find  a brighter  or  more  prosperous  town  of  its  size  any- 
where in  the  country. 

Eunice  is  situated  in  the  center  of  a large  scope  of  the  richest  agri- 
cultural lands  in  the  State.  The  surrounding  country  is  well  settled  up 
by  a thrifty  class  of  agriculturists,  and  while  the  farms  are  not  as  large 
as  they  are  around  Crowley,  their  products  are  more  diversified.  Pre- 
vious to  the  establishment  or  the  town  of  Eunice  the  farmers  were  com- 
pelled to  haul  their  products  a distance  of  twenty  to  twenty-five  miles  to 
Crowley  and  Opelousas,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  these  thrifty  and  hard- 
working people  appreciate  the  advantages  that  the  new  road  and  town 
of  Eunice  afford  them.  The  destinies  of  Eunice  have  been  presided 
■over  and  been  under  the  personal  supervision  of  Mr.  C.  C.  Duson,  who 
has  spared  no  time  or  expense  to  have  the  town  artistically  laid  out, 
streets  nicely  graded  and  sidewalks  laid  along  the  business  streets. 
Many  who  witnessed  the  rapid  growth  and  enhancement  in  values  of  lots 
in  Crowley  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  invest  in  Eunice. 
Those  who  lacked  the  nerve  to  invest  now  know  that  it  was  a good  thing 
because  property  has  nearly  doubled  in  Eunice  since  the  day  of  the  sale 


Biographical 


8 9 


one  year  ago.  They  can  now  see  that  they  made  a mistake  and  have 
but  two  alternatives — either  buy  at  the  advanced  prices  or  let  it  alone.. 
The  great  demand  for  property  in  Eunice,  the  rapid  growth  of  the  towny 
and  the  large  volume  of  business  done  there  all  prove  that  there  was  a press- 
ing need  and  demand  for  this  town.  Anyone  looking  over  the  place  and 
noting  the  general  air  of  prosperity  and  business  activity  and  looking  out 
upon  the  thousands  of  acres  of  rich  farming  lands  tributary  to  the  town, 
being  about  twenty  miles  in  each  direction,  cannot  help  but  see  that 
Eunice  is  destined  to  be  the  metropolis  of  that  prosperous  section  and 
that  the  town  is  bound  to  play  an  important  part  in  the  history,  growth- 
and  development  of  Southwest  Louisiana  from  this  time  on.  A 
parallel  case  is  to  be  found  in  the  opposite  direction.  Lying  south  of 
Midland  Junction  and  running  down  into  Vermilion  parish  is  a strip  of 
country  that  has  no  suporior  for  rice  raising  or  general  farming.  The 
western  part  of  Vermilion  parish  may  be  called  the  newer  portion  of 
all  that  section  known  as  the  prairie  region  of  Southwest  Louisiana. 
Not  until  the  year  1892  did  it  begin  to  develop,  since  which  time  the  rice 
industry  has  received  a great  deal  of  attention.  Some  of  the  largest  irri- 
gating plants  in  the  State  have  been  established  here  this  season.  This 
section  is  the  seat  of  a thrifty  colony  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  people  who 
have  opened  up  some  of  the  finest  rice  plantations  to  be  found  in  America. 
It  is  a section  that  is  being  rapidly  settled  up  by  Northern  and  Western 
people,  who  are  fast  developing  it  into  an  ideal  farming  community.  The 
greatest  drawback  this  section  of  country  has  had  has  been  its  lack  of 
transportation  facilities,  its  distance  from  markets,  railroads,  churches- 
and  schools.  But  all  of  these  difficulties  are  now  being  overcome. 
Through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  C.  C.  Duson  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 
are  now  extending  their  Eunice  Branch  south  from  Midland  Junction 
into  the  heart  of  this,  the  agriculturist’s  paradise.  The  road  has  already 
been  graded  and  track  laid  to  the  Bayou  Queue-de-Tortue  a distance  of 
about  eight  miles.  As  soon  as  the  bridge  can  be  completed  over  this; 
stream  the  road  will  be  pushed  forward  to  a point  four  miles  further  south 
where  a new  town  is  now  being  laid  out  to  be  known  as  Gueydan. 
Like  the  towns  of  Crowley  and  Eunice,  this  town  will  be  under  the  man- 
agement of  Messrs.  W.  W.  Duson  & Bro.,  who  will  see  that  the  town  is 
laid  out,  the  streets  nicely  graded,  parks  established,  a good  depot  and 
hotels  built — in  fact,  they  intend  to  see  that  a thriving  town  is  well  started 


90 


Biographical 


before  inviting  the  public  to  see  what  they  have  done,  or  before  asking 
them  to  cast  their  lot  in  Gueydan.  The  energy  that  these  men  have, 
their  unlimited  resources  for  advertising,  the  care  and  attention  that 
they  bestow  in  looking  for  the  best  interest  of  the  towns  in  which  they 
are  interested,  the  natural  resources  of  the  country,  the  long  distance 
from  which  the  town  will  draw  patronage,  all  combine  toward  making 
Gueydan  an  ideal  town  and  one  that  its  projectors  may  well  feel  proud 
■of.  Some  time  during  the  month  of  December  of  the  present  year  (1895) 
a public  sale  of  lots  will  be  held,  and  there  will  be  offered  one  ot  these 
opportunities  that  the  early  pages  ot  this  book  have  been  telling  you 
about.  If  you  will  embrace  it  and  put  yourself  in  the  way  of  the  incoming 
tide  you  will  be  carried  on  to  success  and  wealth,  just  as  surely  as  were 
those  who  bought  property  in  Crowley  when  it  first  started.  They  have 
seen  business  lots  that  they  purchased  for  from  $30  to  $40  and  $50  per 
lot  advance  until  they  are  worth  from  $1,500  to  $2,500  per  lot.  If  you 
hesitate  you  may  wish  you  hadn’t  and  cry  for  the  “milk  that  has  been 
spilled,”  but  the  same  opportunity  will  never  come  to  you  again.  Other 
opportunities  may  present  themselves,  but  will  you  profit  by  them?  You 
made  a mistake  that  five  years  ago  you  did  not  invest  your  money  in 
Southwest  Louisiana  lands , for  since  that  time  they  have  doubled  nearly 
every  year.  You  made  a mistake  that  you  did  not  take  some  interest  in 
the  towns  of  Crowley  and  Eunice  when  they  first  started,  and  now  Guey- 
dan is  offered  you.  Will  you  seize  this  opportunity  f 

Money  invested  in  almost  any  line  in  Southwest  Louisiana  is  sure  to 
bring  large  returns.  Her  lands  offer  the  safest  and  best  paying  investment 
that  are  today  on  the  American  market.  Don’t  make  the  fatal  mistake 
of  putting  off  another  year  the  investigation  of  these  facts  and  then 
after  property  has  gone  so  high  that  you  can’t  reach  it,  mourn  over  the 
.opportunity  you  have  lost  and  the  mistake  you  have  made . 

We  give  the  public  this  bit  of  personal  history  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  this  firm  deals  extensively  with  the  public,  thousands  of  whom  they 
have  never  seen.  They  solicit  correspondence  and  investments,  pay 
taxes  for  non-residents,  and  it  is  due  the  public  that  they  know  with 
whom  they  deal.  This  firm  in  all  of  their  long  business  career,  dealing 
with  thousands  of  people  whom  they  have  never  seen  have  built  up  an 
honorable  reputation.  They  have  never  been  charged  with  fraud  or 
misrepresenting  facts  and  your  interests  are  safe  in  their  hands.  They 


Biographical 


9i 


are  well  and  widely  known,  and  that  you  may  better  know  who  they  are 
we  publish  here  a few  letters  from  the  most  prominent  business  men  in 
New  Orleans  and  other  parts  of  the  State: 

New  Orleans,  La.,  April  23,  1895.. 

To  The  Business  Public: 

We  have  known  Mr.  W.  W.  Duson,  of  Crowley,  La.,  for  some: 
years.  We  commend  him  as  trustworthy,  capable  and  enterprising,, 
and  shall  be  glad  to  learn  of  his  success  in  his  undertakings. 

Respectfully,  A.  Baldwin  & Co.,  Limited. 

E.  Eustis,  Treasurer. 


Lake  Charles,  La.,  April  23,  1895- 

To  Whom  It  May  Concern: 

This  is  to  certify  that  we  have  known  Mr.  W.  W.  Duson,  of  Crow- 
ley, La.,  for  the  past  five  years  and  a half.  He  is  a man  of  integrity  and 
any  representations  he  may  make  can  be  relied  upon.  He  is  a large 
property  owner  in  Southwest  Louisiana  and  especially  in  and  about 
Crowley.  Any  favors  shown  Mr.  Duson  will  be  appreciated  by  us. 

Respectfully,  A.  L.  Williams, 

Cashier  First  National  Bank. 


New  Orleans,  La.,  May  1,  1895. 

Messrs.  W.  W.  Duson  6°  Bro.  : 

Gentlemen — We  note  with  pleasure  your  determination  to  visit 
some  of  the  Northern  centers  in  the  interest  of  Crowley  and  adjacent 
territory,  which  we  may  say  owes  its  wonderful  and  rapid  strides  in  de- 
velopment in  an  exceedingly  great  measure  to  your  untiring  efforts;  and 
we  write  to  encourage  and  urge  you  to  continue  the  good  work. 

Knowing  you  as  intimately  as  we  do,  and  knowing  the  high  esteem 
in  which  you  are  held  by  the  people  in  your  section  and  in  this  city, 
both  as  a business  men  and  men  of  integrity,  we  feel  certain  of  your 
ultimate  success.  Sincerely  yours,  Martin  Thompson  & Co. 


New  Iberia,  La.,  April  22,  1895. 

To  Whom  it  May  Concern: 

This  is  to  certify  that  we  have  known  Messrs.  W.  W.  Duson  & Bro. 
for  several  years  and  have  had  considerable  banking  business  with 
them.  We  know  them  to  be  honorable,  energetic  and  pushing  business 
men.  Their  word  and  paper  has  always  been  good  and  promptly  paid  to 
us.  We  only  wish  we  had  more  good  business  men  like  them  in  our  sec- 
tion of  the  State.  Very  Respectfully,  W.  E.  Satterfield, 

Cashier  People’s  Bank  of  New  Iberia. 


92 


Biographical 


New  Orleans,  La.,  April  23,  1895. 
Messrs.  W.  W.  Duson  &=  Bro.,  Crowley , La.: 

Gentlemen — We  are  in  receipt  of  your  esteemed  favor  of  the  20th 
inst.  requesting  a letter  from  our  firm  in  reference  to  the  part  you  have 
performed  in  developing  the  Southwestern  portion  of  Louisiana;  and  also 
as  to  your  own  personal  responsibility  and  business  capacity.  It  affords 
me  great  pleasure  to  be  instrumental  in  aiding  you  in  this  great  enter- 
prise. Southwest  Louisiana  is  indebted  to  your  firm  more  than  to  any 
other,  or  we  may  say  all  others,  in  the  State  of  Louisiana  for  its  present 
development. 

We  agree  with  you  that  the  parishes  in  which  you  are  now  laboring 
are  ideal  spots  tor  people  wishing  homes  in  a comfortable  locality,  who 
have  moderate  means  and  who  wish  to  engage  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
We  believe  if  you  reach  the  right  parties  in  the  North  and  West  you  will 
add  a large  number  of  new  residents  to  your  locality.  We  have  this  to 
say  of  your  firm  that  in  all  our  dealings,  which  have  covered  a period  of 
several  years,  we  have  found  you  honorable,  high  toned  gentlemen,  and 
always  ready  to  carry  out  any  promises  made  by  you.  Wishing  you 
every  success,  we  remain,  Yours  very  truly, 

Woodward,  Wight  & Co.,  Limited. 
Pearl  Wight,  President. 

Patterson,  La.,  April  26,  1895. 
Messrs.  W.  VC.  Duson  Bro .,  Crowley , La.: 

Gentlemen — Referring  to  your  favor  of  recent  date  asking  for  an 
expression  of  my  opinion  as  to  the  work  you  are  doing  in  Southwest 
Louisiana,  as  well  as  the  prospect  for  still  greater  development  of  your 
section,  will  say  I was  acquainted  with  your  section  of  the  State  when 
it  had  little  save  natural  beauty  to  recommend  it  to  the  attention  of 
outsiders.  During  the  past  ten  years  I have  watched  the  growth  and 
development  of  your  parish  with  much  interest. 

Because  through  our  business  dealings  extending  over  a period  of 
many  years,  I was  convinced  of  your  integrity  as  a business  man,  and 
of  the  sincerity  of  your  purposes,  and  because  I fully  believe  that  your 
section  of  the  State  is  destined  from  its  natural  advantages  to  become 
one  of  the  most  thickly  settled,  as  it  is  now  the  most  prosperous  section 
of  the  South,  and  that  it  is  fully  worthy  of  the  efforts  of  its  best  citizens 
in  behalf  of  its  development,  such  as  it  is  receiving  at  your  hands. 

The  phenominal  development  and  growth  of  the  rice  industry 
throughout  Southwest  Louisiana  has  placed  the  value  of  your  agricul- 
tural lands  beyond  the  experimental  stage,  and  in  my  opinion,  in  view 
of  the  the  unprecedented  immigration  which  the  entire  South  is  now 
receiving,  in  the  near  future  they  will  bring  double  the  prices  they  do 
today.  I regard  them  as  a safe  investment  today  and  believe  you  are 


Biographical 


93 


fully  warranted  and  borne  out  by  the  facts  in  the  expression  of  your 
opinion  in  regard  to  them.  I have  no  hesitancy  in  saying  this,  as  I have 
all  faith  in  your  section  of  the  country  and  confidence  in  your  judgment 
as  a business  man.  I feel  certain  you  will  not  misrepresent  them.  The 
greatest  need  of  your  section,  is  more  men  with  such  energy  as  your  firm 
has  displayed  for  the  past  ten  years,  to  aid  you  in  bringing  it  to  the 
attention  of  capitalists  who  will  gladly  aid  you  when  once  they  become 
convinced  of  the  value  of  your  securities.  And  I heartily  endorse  your 
determinaton  to  find  these  men,  as  I am  thoroughly  convinced  that  an 
investigation  on  their  part  would  satisfy  them  that  investments  in 
Southwest  Lousiana  are  perfectly  safe,  and  will  bring  them  larger  returns 
than  anything  that  is  offered  in  the  North,  East  or  West  today. 

Yours  very  truly,  F.  B.  Williams. 


Westlake,  La.,  April  24,  1895. 


To  The  Business  Public: 

We  have  known  Mr.  W.  W.  Duson,  of  the  firm  of  W.  W.  Duson  & 
Bro.,  for  the  past  ten  years  and  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  him.  Messrs. 
Duson  Bros,  have  done  more  for  Southwest  Louisiana  than  ony  one  else 
in  the  State.  What  was  ten  years  ago  an  open  prairie,  they  have  by 
their  perseverance  and  enterprise  settled  with  a thrifty  class  of  farmers 
from  all  parts  of  the  States,  and  they  are  themselves  largely  engaged 
in  the  cultivation  of  rice.  They  have  built  the  town  of  Crowley,  now  a 
well-to-do  farming  center  of  some  two  or  three  thousand  people,  where  a 
few  years  ago  there  was  not  a house  in  sight.  These  gentlemen  have 
been  engaged  in  some  large  undertakings  in  this  section  and  by  their 
straightforwardness  and  promptness  in  meeting  all  engagements  have 
been  very  successtul,  and  our  dealings  with  them,  which  have  been  quite 
extensive  in  our  line,  have  always  been  most  satisfactory. 

Locke,  Moore  & Co.,  Limited. 

Geo.  Locke,  President. 


Washington,  La.,  April  26,  1895. 

IV.  IV.  Duson , Esq.,  Crowley , La.: 

My  Dear  Sir — Your  valued  favor  of  the  20th  is  at  hand,  and  in 
reply  to  your  request  to  be  permitted  to  refer  to  us  if  you  should  find  it 
desirable,  let  us  say  we  did  not  suppose  that  it  would  ever  be  neces- 
sary for  the  firm  of  W.  W.  Duson  & Bro.,  or  for  yourself  or  your 
worthy  brother  C.  C.,  to  refer  to  any  one  in  almost  any  locality. 
Certainly  your  name  has  become  almost  a household  word  wherever  the 
great  resources  of  Louisiana  have  been  known,  and  the  hundreds  of 
good  honest,  progressive  settlers  for  whom  you  have  secured  most  excel- 
lent homes  are  daily  spreading  the  well  founded  reputation  for  honest, 


94 


Biographical 


earnest  purpose,  and  prompt  progressive  action,  which  you  have  so  long 
enjoyed  at  home. 

You  are  at  perfect  liberty  to  refer  to  us  at  any  time,  and  it  will  give 
us  pleasure  if,  by  our  plain  statements  of  facts,  we  may  in  a small  degree 
assist  you  in  your  commendable  efforts  to  help  honest  people  secure 
cheap  and  good  homes  in  the  most  naturally  favored  state  in  the  Union 
— Louisiana.  With  best  wishes,  believe  me, 

Most  truly  yours, 

Geo.  W.  Curtis,  Cashier. 


New  Orleans,  La.,  April  23,  1895. 
Messrs.  W.  W.  Duson  Bro.,  Crowley,  La.: 

Gentlemen — With  the  closing  of  our  second  year’s  business  with 
you  we  wish  to  thank  you  for  many  courtesies  extended  us  and  to  express 
our  appreciation  of  your  straightforward  and  honorable  manner  in  your 
dealings  with  us.  The  business  community  of  this  city  and  the  people  of 
Southwest  Louisiana  have  much  to  thank  you  for,  as  to  your  efforts  is 
due  the  development  and  prosperity  of  your  section,  which  has  certainly 
been  unprecedented.  We  wish  you  all  success  in  your  undertaking  to 
which  your  integrity  and  energy  most  undoubtedly  entitles  you. 

Very  truly  yours,  Daspit  & Levert. 


Opelousas,  La.,  April  26,  1895. 

To  The  Public: 

W.  W.  Duson,  Esq.,  a member  of  the  firm  of  W.  W.  Duson  & Bro., 
of  Crowley,  La.,  is  a gentleman  with  whom  I have  been  intimately 
acquainted  for  many  years,  both  in  the  social  and  business  walks  of  life, 
and  I take  pleasure  in  stating  that  he  is  not  only  an  honorable  and 
reliable  gentleman  but  one  full  of  business  vigor  and  thrift  and  any 
representations  of  his  (or  his  firm)  should  meet  with  credit.  The  firm 
has  been  in  existance  for  several  years  and  is  well  known  and  respected, 
and  its  worth  and  reliability  attested  by  the  growth  and  prosperity  of 
Acadia  parish  and  the  flourishing  towns  of  Crowley  and  Eunice.  Any 
favors  shown  him  will  be  appreciated  by  a host  of  personal  and  business 
friends,  and  by  Yours  very  truly,  W.  C.  Perrault, 

Judge  nth  District  La.,  Acadia  and  St.  Landry  Parishes. 


New  Orleans,  La.,  April  26,  1895. 

IV.  IV.  Duson  <S^  Bro.,  Crowley,  La.: 

Gentlemen — In  answer  to  your  favor  of  recent  date,  for  your  own 
benefit  as  well  as  for  the  benefit  of  those  you  seek  to  interest  in  your 
section,  will  say  that  our  acquaintance  with  your  business  manager,  Mr. 


Biographical 


95 


W.  W.  Duson,  and  his  manner  of  doing  business,  extends  over  a period 
of  twenty  years  and  during  this  time  we  have  had  many  large  and  im- 
portant financial  transactions  with  him.  Many  times  we  have  been  com- 
pelled to  rely  entirely  on  Mr.  Duson’s  integrity  as  a business  man,  and 
the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  and  we  can  unhesitatingly  vouch  for 
both  of  these  qualities. 

W.  W.  Duson  and  his  brother,  ex-Senator  C.  C.  Duson,  are  both 
men  of  unquestionable  integrity  and  business  sagacity,  and  any  state- 
ments they  make  are  worthy  of  all  credence.  They  need  have  no  dif- 
fidence in  recommending  . to  the  financial  world  Southwest  Louisiana 
securities,  as  we  are  convinced  that  their  section  offers  a safe  invest- 
ment to  capitalists,  and  it  needs  only  be  brought  to  the  attention  of 
monied  men  in  order  to  interest  them  in  its  further  development.  As- 
suring you  of  our  willingness  to  aid  you  in  any  way  we  can,  and  of  our 
good  wishes  for  the  success  of  your  firm  and  the  work  you  are  doing,  we 
are,  Yours  truly,  Kahn  & Levy. 


Bayou  Chicot,  La.,  April  23,  1895. 

To  Whom  it  May  Concern: 

This  is  to  certify  that  Messrs.  W.  W.  Duson  & Bro.  are  honorable, 
upright  and  trustworthy  gentlemen,  and  I take  great  pleasure  in  recom- 
mending them  to  the  general  public  as  gentlemen  of  integrity,  energy 
and  veracity. 

The  firm  of  W.  W.  Duson  & Bro.  more  than  to  any  one  else  is  due 
the  credit  of  developing  Southwest  Louisiana  and  bringing  the  many  re- 
sources and  advantages  of  that  section  to  the  notice  of  the  public,  and  I 
bespeak  for  them  and  their  section  of  the  State  a brilliant  future. 

Respectfully,  Samuel  Haas. 


New  Iberia,  La.,  April  25,  1895. 

To  Whom  it  May  Concern: 

We  take  pleasure  in  saying  that  we  have  known  Mr.  W.  W.  Duson 
for  several  years  and  have  had,  during  that  time,  business  dealing  with 
him  that  have  proved  satisfactory  in  every  respect.  We  believe  him  to 
be  a thorough  and  upright  gentleman,  honest  and  true  in  his  purposes, 
and  one  who  can  be  relied  upon.  Very  Respectfully. 

P.  L.  Renoudet, 
Cashier  First  National  Bank. 


New  Orleans,  La.,  April  23,  1895. 

To  Whom  It  May  Concern  : 

Mr.  W.  W.  Duson,  of  the  firm  of  W.  W.  Duson  & Bro.,  of  Crowley, 
La.,  has  been  known  to  us  for  several  years.  He  and  his  firm  are  very 


g6 


Biographical 


extensively  interested  in  lands  in  a portion  of  Louisiana  which  under 
their  management  and  its  natural  great  agricultural  advantages  has  built 
up  and  improved  very  materially. 

Mr.  Duson  we  have  found  to  be  a man  of  unswerving  integrity  in 
business,  of  good  judgment  and  great  energy.  His  work  and  that  of  his 
firm  in  developing  and  settling  up  the  portion  of  Louisiana  in  which  they 
are  interested  has  met  with  great  success,  and  we  cheerfully  recommend 
Mr.  Duson  to  those  whose  attention  he  may  solicit. 

Yours  truly,  Rice  Born  & Co.,  Limited. 

Ed.  A.  Born,  Vice-President. 


New  Orkeans,  La.,  May  7,  1875. 

To  Whom  it  May  Concern: 

We  desire  to  say  of  Messrs.  W.  W.  Duson  and  C.  C.  Duson,  of 
Crowley,  Louisiana,  that  they  are  highly  reputable  men,  and  have  done 
a great  deal  to  develop  and  forward  the  interests  of  their  section.  All 
our  dealings  with  them  have  been  entirely  satisfactory.  They  have 
been  very  successful  in  improving  Crowley  and  its  neighborhood,  and  in 
this  they  have  been  strongly  assisted  by  the  character  of  the  land  they 
live  in.  To  use  their  own  words  it  is  one  of  the  grandest  agricultural 
sections  in  America.  New  Orleans  National  Bank, 

Wm.  Palfrey,  Cashier. 


